Leon Parker

Not to be confused with the baritone saxophonist Leo Parker.

Leon Parker
Leon Parker, on the right, playing with Sean Smith
Background information
Born	(1965-08-21) August 21, 1965 White Plains, New York, United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Percussionist, composer
Years active	1992–present

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 Billboard's "Top Jazz albums" chart. It was his second album for Columbia.

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."

Discography

As leader

• 1994: Above & Below (Epicure)
• 1996: Belief (Columbia)
• 1998: Awakening (Columbia)
• 2001: The Simple Life (Label M)

Collaborations

• 1999: Duo with Charlie Hunter (Blue Note)

As sideman

With Dewey Redman & Joshua Redman

• Choices (Enja, 1992)

With Jesse Davis

• As We Speak (Concord Jazz, 1992)
• Young at Art (Concord Jazz, 1993)

With MTB (Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, Peter Bernstein)

• Consenting Adults (Criss Cross Jazz, 1994)

With Jacky Terrasson

• Jacky Terrasson (Bluenote, 1994)
• Reach (Blue Note, 1995)
• Alive (Blue Note, 1998)
• A Paris... (Blue Note, 2000)

With Don Braden

• Organic (Epicure, 1995)

With James Carter

• The Real Quiet Storm (Atlantic, 1995)

With Franck Amsallem and Tim Ries

• Is That So, Sunnyside Records 1996

With Virginia Mayhew

• Nini Green (Chiaroscuro, 1997)

With Giovanni Mirabassi

• Terra Furiosa (Discograph, 2008)
• Out of Track (Discograph, 2009)

With Giovanni Mirabassi and Gianluca Renzi

• Live At the Blue Note, Tokyo (Discograph, 2010)