Indo Latin Jazz Live in Concert CD Reviews

by Peter Thelen One can’t accuse Parker of flooding the market with product; this live set is only her second album, the first in nine years, but after even a single listen, one can conclude it was clearly worth the wait. First things first, this eight song instrumental set sounds […]

The opener Affinity Minus One is smack in the middle of Latin territory with no evident concession to Indian music, although the intrinsic affinities between the styles – for example the preponderance of minor harmony, syncopation and modalism – seem clear. Then there’s instrumentation: perhaps the clearest common ground, tabla […]

Short Cuts / New Releases: Blending East Indian rhythms with latin syncopations, Californian pianist Mariah Parker’s band includes reedsman Paul McCandless and takes an easy-listening route to nirvana while performing live at Yoshi’s.

The mix of live recording sounds with the vibrant energy is superb on this January 2017 album; Mariah’s piano leads a stellar crew on this high-energy live recording, including reedmaster Paul McCandless, guitarist Matthew Montfort, Ian Dogole on percussion, as well as bassists Fred Randolph and Kash Killion, percussionist Brian […]

Get your body moving to the delightful uptempo rhythms of this excellent compilation of live performances at Yoshi’s Oakland, Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, and Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley and TRI Studios, San Rafael. Composer/band leader Mariah Parker on piano and santur and 8 exceptional band members keep the groove coming […]

If you think paring down rock and prog into apposite sub-genres-within-genres is a mare’s nest, try subdividing World and New Age, especially the latter. Let me know when you give it a go, I still have lots of Prozac and Xanax from the vacation I had in a sanitarium after […]

With songs recorded live during her tours, pianist and composer and arranger Mariah Parker presents us with Indo Latin Jazz Live In Concert, her second recording. Parker, whose debut album dates back to 2009, offers us a musical journey that establishes a connection between the music of India and the […]

I hate to admit, I’m a sucker for Latin jazz. It’s happy music that goes straight to your hips and, as we all know, hips don’t lie. But I accept that it can sometimes have a whiff of Manchego cheese about it as it descends into easy listening, so it’s […]

Traditional Indian music, various Latin styles and contemporary jazz have negotiated an unlikely but productive friendship in the Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble, a periodically convened combo of top Northern California jazz and world music players led by pianist Mariah Parker. She reunites the unit for Live in Concert (Ancient Future.com […]

Marin may be known as a rock ’n’ roll county, but it’s also home to some of the foremost musicians in global fusion — a form of acoustic jazz that requires melodic invention, masterful musicianship and fearless improvisation. Eight of the best players on the planet are featured on pianist […]