LORRE

ERROL PARKER
(original BRUNSWICK LP # 87914, FRANCE, 1963)

I always wondered why there is so little Raph Schecroun / Errol Parker posted in the blogworld.

There are many reasons probably.  First of all he was never that well-known outside of France. His earlier recordings as a bop-influenced pianist (and organist) under his real name of Raph Schecroun or as Errol Parker have often been overlooked and rarely re-issued. 

The albums he recorded during his second incarnation, as a bandleader / drummer mostly, on his own Sahara label in the US - are perhaps better-known in the small world of adventurous jazz aficionados.  These albums are often better known because of the participation of "names" - or future "names" as they weren't all that well-known at the time (Robin Eubanks, Wallace Roney, Donald Harrison, Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Philip Harper, Byard Lancaster, and Jimmy Owens, among others).

Most of the Sahara catalogue - if not all - has been re-issued on CD but is still pretty hard to find.

It is a shame because the two incarnations of Errol Parker are worth listening too.

It is hard to believe that it is the same musician who recorded this album and the one I posted a few months ago (A Night in Tunisia). 

For details of his life and career you can read this obituary published in LIBERATION (in french) or this article in english.

Or, even better provided that you can find a copy, read his autobiography A Flat Tire On My Ass, the Autobiography of Errol Parker,  also available in french as De bohème en galère : les pérégrinations d'un musicien de jazz à New York, Éditons Filipacchi, 1996.

 The album posted today is probably his most famous album, it contains the track LORRE which was a huge commercial hit. 

Tracklist:  lorre / goody goody / unison / I only have eyes for you / old folks / up and down b side three blind mice / stella by starlight / blue afternoon / I cover the waterfront / satin doll / pick up yoursel



Recorded in Paris May 9 & 10th 1963 with Georges LUCA bass and Kansas FIELDS drums.


Ripped and cleaned by Paul D.  WAV files.  So you know you can expect superb sound quality!
Don't forget to thank him, ripping and cleaning old scratchy LP is a labour of love.


I may post in the near future this other rare ERROL PARKER album that I found last year in a souk in Morocco. 
It still needs a good cleaning though.