Horace Parlan


Horace Parlan was an American hard bop and post-bop pianist and composer. He was known for his contributions to the Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots.

Early life

In his birth year, Parlan was stricken with polio, resulting in the partial crippling of his right hand. The handicap contributed to his development of a particularly "pungent" left-hand chord voicing style, while comping with highly rhythmic phrases with the right.

Later life and career

Between 1952 and 1957, he worked in Washington DC with Sonny Stitt, then spent two years with Mingus' Jazz Workshop. In 1973, Parlan moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. He later settled in the small village of Rude in southern Zealand. In 1974 he completed a State Department tour of Africa with Hal Singer.
His later work, such as a series of duos with the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp included the album Goin' Home, steeped in gospel music.
Parlan received the 2000 Ben Webster Prize awarded by the Ben Webster Foundation.

Discography

As leader

With Gene Ammons
With Dave Bailey
With Al Cohn and Zoot Sims
  • Motoring Along
With Johnny Coles
  • New Morning
With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
  • Tough Tenor Favorites – with Johnny Griffin
  • Goin' to the Meeting
  • Jaw's Blues
With Lou Donaldson
With Pierre Dorge
With Booker Ervin
  • That's It!
  • Exultation!
With Frank Foster
With Dexter Gordon
  • Doin' Allright
  • Stable Mable
With Slide Hampton
  • Jazz with a Twist
  • Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton
With Hugo Heredia
With Langston Hughes
With Roland Kirk
With Charles Mingus
With Doug Raney
With Archie Shepp
With Idrees Sulieman
With Stanley Turrentine
  • Look Out!
  • Comin' Your Way
  • Up at "Minton's"
  • Salt Song
With Tommy Turrentine
  • Tommy Turrentine
With Kai Winding and Curtis Fuller
  • Giant Bones '80
With various artists'