The Persuasive Percussion of ‘Rhythmist’ Leon Parker

Imagine you’re a jazz drummer without a gig for the night, cruising the clubs to check out the competition. You stop in to hear a young phenom named Leon Parker, a guy who is supposedly charting his own path on percussion.

But the only drum-related instruments on the stage are a snare drum and a cymbal. Parker, you figure, hasn’t finished setting up his kit. You discover how wrong you are when the band comes out, Parker sits behind the snare and cymbal, and plays a full set with no other percussion accessories.

Impressive? Yes, indeed, because Parker manages with his limited setup to do everything one expects from a jazz drummer--from keeping time and swinging the band to adding bursts and flashes of timbral cover. And it’s no news to mention that there are many, many drummers who--with a stage full of stuff to bang, stroke, scrape and batter--can’t accomplish what Parker does with his minimalist resources.

There are those, of course, who will say that jazz drumming requires a full kit. And, from a limited perspective, there’s logic in the assertion. After all, what has become the standard drum setup--snare, bass, tom-toms, hi-hat cymbal, ride cymbal and crash cymbal, at the very minimum--evolved to support a certain style of music. And there’s no denying its efficiency in doing so. Conversely, the standard drum kit tends to be most effective within the mainstream style it was developed to serve and least effective as a vehicle to drive through new territories.

Parker, on the other hand--uncommitted to any specific setup, ever in search of new sounds and ideas--is receptive to virtually every unexpected arrival of indefinable musical views. His new, appropriately titled album, “The Simple Life” (* * * Label M Records), includes a number of tracks that will surely be viewed by some purists as non-jazz music. That depends, of course, on the breadth of one’s definition of the art, on how wide one is willing to open the umbrella.

Parker, like many other young players, believes in a creative gathering encompassing many forms of expression, from many parts of the world. Described by his record company--accurately, if somewhat cumbersomely--as a “rhythmist,” Parker displays expressive forms encompassing rhythm-making that use voice and body, hand percussion and traditional jazz drumming. His selections range from free-floating, African-tinged improvisations to street-sound interludes to a duo of bells with the Middle Eastern djembe drum.

“Caravan,” the Juan Tizol-Duke Ellington classic, becomes a voice-drum dialogue between Parker and Elizabeth Kontomanou, with soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome eventually joining in. Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys” triggers more traditional interplay between Parker and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, and “Jungle (Interlude)” joins Parker’s percussion and vocal-body rhythms with four other percussionists and three vocalists.

With so many different combinations performing such a range of stylistic approaches, the album is not exactly blessed with a central focus. But it’s a good introduction to the work of one of the genre’s determined individualists as he continues his quest to identify jazz rhythms from the broadest possible perspective.

Over the next few weeks, two of the most legendary pianists in jazz will appear at the Hollywood Bowl: Oscar Peterson on Wednesday and George Shearing on Sept. 5. Peterson’s recording activities have been relatively modest lately for an artist who is surely one of the most prolific producers of albums in jazz. Telarc Jazz has just issued, however, a collection of eight superb performances tracing to seven different recordings.

“Oscar’s Ballads” (* * * Telarc Jazz) showcases Peterson in settings ranging from one of his classic trios (with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis) to a recent release in which he is accompanied by a string section conducted by Michel Legrand. Among the highlights: a lovely rendering of “When Summer Comes”; a pairing with pianist Benny Green on “If You Only Knew”; and the lush “Harcourt Nights” with the Legrand ensemble.

Shearing is not only active, he is still rediscovering and reexamining his past. He arrived on the scene in the late ‘40s with an utterly distinctive sound, blending his own chorded melodies in unison with guitar and vibes. Fascinating at the time, it provided a jazz hit with his version of “September in the Rain,” and its appeal continues more than half a century later.

“Back to Birdland” (* * * Telarc Jazz) features the current installment of the Shearing Quintet in a surprisingly far-ranging selection of material. Shearing’s certified moneymaker, “Lullaby of Birdland,” is included, of course.

It was written, he says, “while eating a steak in my dining room ... and I finished [the song] in 10 minutes.” An extremely valuable 10 minutes, as it turned out, because the composition has been recorded by virtually every major jazz artist, in one form or another. Typically whimsical, he starts this live rendering in stride style, stopping in reaction to the audience laughter before launching into “the real one.”

But Shearing, ever adventurous, also includes Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” and Lee Konitz’s “Subconscious Lee” as well as Ellington’s “Drop Me Off in Harlem.” The format repeats the familiar Shearing sound, and his solos frequently dig into the locked-hand chording so closely identified with his playing. He is well-matched by an excellent ensemble and the work of guitarist Reg Schwager, whose consistently imaginative solos are among the recording’s many improvisational high points.