“His signature style helped define James
Brown’s brand of funk. ”–NPR

Always a formidable improviser, alto saxophonist Maceo Parker was baptized by the two supreme prophets of funk, James Brown and George Clinton. After a quarter century of collaborating with the two soul visionaries he started spreading the gospel of groove in the late 1980s with his own blazing band, made up mostly of alumni from Brown’s disciplined R&B academy and Clinton’s free-flowing funk seminars. A consummate entertainer, Parker turns every performance into a uproarious party.

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Always a formidable improviser, saxophonist Maceo Parker was baptized by funk’s two supreme prophets: James Brown and George Clinton. After a quarter century with the soul visionaries, he started spreading the gospel of groove in the late 1980s with his own blazing band, made up mostly of alumni from Brown’s disciplined R&B academy and Clinton’s free-flowing funk seminars. Whatever venue he works, Parker turns every performance into an uproarious party.

The key to understanding this dedicated entertainer is his belief in funk’s power to transform and heal. Born and raised in Kinston, North Carolina, he came up surrounded by music. His parents played gospel in their church and his uncle headed a local R&B band, the Blue Notes. Parker started playing saxophone at eight, and soon formed the Junior Blue Notes with his brothers Melvin on trombone and Kellis on drums. Enamored with the original soul brother, Ray Charles, he gained inspiration from Hank Crawford and David Newman, as well as Cannonball Adderley, Paul Desmond, and Stanley Turrentine.

By the time he graduated from college with a degree in music, Parker had perfected his hard-driving sound, a gritty, insistent, rhythmic incantation. James Brown originally hired him as a baritone saxophonist because he wanted Kellis on drums. But before long Parker had taken over the tenor chair as a featured soloist. When Brown merged political consciousness with deep funk on hits like “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud,” Parker’s horn was the clarion call to action.

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