Leon Parker
Leon Parker (born August 21, 1965 in White Plains, New York) is a jazz percussionist and composer. He is known for occasionally using a minimalist drum set with fewer components than usual, "sometimes consisting only of a snare drum, bass drum and a cymbal." His 1998 album, Awakening (Columbia), reached the 20th position on Billboards "Top Jazz albums" chart. It was his second album for Columbia.
Leon Parker
- Name
- Leon Parker
- Born
- 21 August 1965
- Birthplace
- White Plains, New York, United States
- Occupation
- Percussionist, composer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz · post-bop
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Leon Parker. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1818895 · wikipedia · Leon Parker
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Biography
Biography
Parker played on pianist Jacky Terrasson's first three albums. Parker toured with guitarist Charlie Hunter, who commented that "What I always look for in drummers is that they have a perfect blend of the visceral and the intellectual [..] Leon definitely had that."
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Leon Parker • Born — 21 August 1965 • Birthplace — White Plains, New York, United States • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Percussionist, composer • Years Active — 1992–present
Documentary record
Leon Parker, recorded as a musician, was born on 21 August 1965. The birth is recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
As leader
As leader
• 1994: Above & Below (Epicure) • 1996: Belief (Columbia) • 1998: Awakening (Columbia) • 2001: The Simple Life (Label M)
Collaborations
Collaborations
• 1999: Duo with Charlie Hunter (Blue Note)
As sideman
As sideman
With Jesse Davis • As We Speak (Concord Jazz, 1992) • Young at Art (Concord Jazz, 1993) With Giovanni Mirabassi • Terra Furiosa (Discograph, 2008) • Out of Track (Discograph, 2009) With Jacky Terrasson • Jacky Terrasson (Blue Note, 1994) • Reach (Blue Note, 1995) • Alive (Blue Note, 1998) • A Paris... (Blue Note, 2000) With others • Dewey Redman & Joshua Redman, Choices (Enja, 1992) • MTB (Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, Peter Bernstein), Consenting Adults (Criss Cross Jazz, 1994) • Don Braden, Organic (Epicure, 1995) • James Carter, The Real Quiet Storm (Atlantic, 1995) • Franck Amsallem and Tim Ries, Is That So (Sunnyside, 1996) • Virginia Mayhew, Nini Green (Chiaroscuro, 1997) • Giovanni Mirabassi & Gianluca Renzi, Live At the Blue Note, Tokyo (Discograph, 2010)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leon Parker, revision 1327916421 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
44,023 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Leon MenkshiPerson
- Leon MiloPerson
- Léon MoreauPerson
- Leon OrthelPerson
- Leon PaynePerson
- Leon RedbonePerson
- Léon ReinachPerson
- Leon RenéPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Leon Parker?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.