some musicians communicate together so effortlessly that they seem to be pulling their thoughts from the same mind. william parker and hamid drake are two masters existing in that space.

they played two or three pieces, beginning with a slow rhythm by drake on a large handdrum and parker on a flute of some kind (i couldn't see him very well - was it a nay?). the first piece built up to a few vocal phrases. i think they ran something along the line of "death is dead / god is crying / and the devil wears a big ol' grin". the audience was rapt, and showed their appreciation openly.

drake then moved on to the drumkit and parker shifted to something that looked like a bombarde (i'm not entirely sure what it was). we were sitting on a nice angle to the drumkit and got to watch drake at work. unfortunately we were also sitting in front of a speaker and got a full blast of whatever parker was playing straight in the face. it was fiercely piercing, but still enjoyable.

the only bad bit of the show was the stage manager who was freaking out beside the stage for several minutes because drake and parker went over time. they were fully into the music, eyes shut, and didn't see her trying to wave them down. it was really frustrating to watch her fret a couple feet away. drake and parker were flying and this lady was trying to bring them abruptly back to earth. she just didn't seem to understand that you don't do that, especially when the audience is in a trance, the jazz is free, and there's still another hour before the next act.

when they finally landed back on stage they received a much deserved standing ovation. now i'm out hunting for their albums.

later the same day they did a trio with mwata bowden. while drake and parker play together a lot, and drake and bowden play together, it was a first for parker and bowden. it was a little awkward, and bowden has a strange sense of timing for making anachronistic percussions sounds. it conjured the thought of milford graves (who i've never seen live, but have his album stories in mind). the coolest part about bowden's visit to vancouver was the time he spent with the handsworth secondary school jazz band - they performed with bowden the next day. how cool would that be if you were in high school? he's definitely dedicated to his craft.

bowden did do some swift work on the didgeridoo (and the baritone sax, if i recall right), as well as stomping out rhythm with ankle bells. parker was playing the bass this time and took a while to figure bowden out, but in the end it was a fun performance. minus the second panicked appearance by the stage manager.

shows at the roundhouse performance centre, vancouver, july 3, 2004