Maceo Parker

-the master of the alto saxophone-

The many fans of James Brown has probably, on several occasions, heard the Godfather of Soul cry out the name Maceo during his many live performances. However, most people actually has no idea whatsoever of the meaning of the word. The vast majority has probably considered it to be some funky word produced by the Godfather in the very heat of the music. The fact is that the word Maceo was the name of Brown's first sax player and bandleader, Maceo Parker, one of the leading sax players in jazz and funk music. Whenever the Godfather felt it was time for Maceo to blow his horn on a funky tune he would cry out Maceo's name loud and clear.

Maceo Parker was born in Kingston, North Carolina in 1943. He grew up in a musically gifted family were his father played piano and drums, and sang together with Maceos mother in the church choir. Before Maceo and his two brothers, Melvin and Kellie even had become teenagers they had already chosen their instruments. For Maceo, it meant the tenor saxophone. The Parker brothers big idol during this period was their uncle who had a band by the name of Bobby Butler & the Mighty Blue Notes. Therefore the brothers choose to start a band named, the Junior Blue Notes. As teenagers they came to play different night clubs during the breaks in concerts and similar places. So, when Maceo finished high school and started college he was practically a professional, skilled and very talented musician and entertainer.

1964 he got a steady job with soul man James Brown in his orchestra. At first he was thrown into the spotlights as a baritone saxophone player but soon started taking care of all the tenor solos. In 1967 he took a quick break from Brown to do his military service, but returned later that year, now as Browns first tenor sax man. The following three years till 1970 (from Cold Sweat 67 to Funky Drummer 70) he worked as the leading sax player on Browns all immortal hit successes. In fact, Maceo Parker is the one playing the famous sax solo on Brown's classic hit success "(I feel good) I got you". Parker has also played an intergraded and prominent role in Browns stage shows, and from 1969 as his bandleader. In March 1970, Parker got tired of his job as Browns bandleader and quit together with some of the keymusicans (including his brother Melvin on drums and trombone player Fred Wesley) and formed the group Maceo & All the King's Men. Together they toured and recorded two albums (nowadays rare and expensive collectables) during a two year period.

Parker did however return to Brown in 1973 and started, on his advice, to play the alto saxophone instead of the baritone saxophone. During the years to follow he participated on a numerous amount of immortal hits like Doin' It To Death, Soul Power 74 and Across the Tracks. In 1§975 Parker once again decided to leave Brown, but this time he joined up with George Clinton and his band Parliament. Together with Wesley, Parker started the nowadays cult proclaimed horn section, the Horny Horns. During the years with Clinton, Parker and other funk musicans became a vital part in the creation and the making of what became to be known as the "Funkateer Movement". A movement which included leading funk performers as E, W & F and Clintons Parliament and was based upon lively, characteristic, fantasy shaped stage shows influenced by space and the universe, which came expand into a fantasy world surrounding the musicians. The collaboration with Clinton and Bootsy Collins under the Parliament, Funkadelic and P-Funk flag, lasted into the 1980s and resulted in several immortal hits and international successes.

Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis

In 1984, Parker was once again teamed up with Brown as his bandleader, and stayed until Brown ended up in jail in 1988. Parker then decided to launch his own solo career and recruited his old band mates, trombone player Fred Wesley, and sax player Pee Wee Ellis from the days with Brown and Clinton. A telephone call from a German producer soon led to his first own recording in his own name in 16 years. The album which was titled "Roots Revisited" was released in 1990, and to everyone's surprise it became a great success and ended up as no.1 on Billboard Jazz Charts during almost 10 weeks. The successes gave Parker the opportunity to start touring under his own name and soon followed more record releases.

Me and Maceo at the Stockholm Jazz festival, July 2001.

Maceo Parker soon came to be a new and hot name on the big European Jazz Festivals, and through the festivals he managed to reach a new younger audience who loved his groovy live shows. Finally Parker had achieved the status and the success he so long had been deserving. Despite his many and long tours, he has also had the time to record with several other artists like Deee-Lite, De La Soul, Bryan Ferry, Rod Stewart, 10,000 Maniacs, and with other prominent jazz stars as Nils Landgren and Larry Golding's (Goldings who originally started off as Parker's organ player in the early 90s before launching an successful career of his own) just to mention a few. In January 1995, Parker released a documentary by the name of "My Name Is Maceo", which is recorded off and on stage during a couple of years in the beginning of the 90s and which shows different aspects of Parker's life and music through the years. In the spring of 2000, Parker released his latest recording titled, "Dial Maceo", which features guest performances by Prince and Parker's son, Corey Parker.

Maceo Parker, "Dial Maceo" 2000

During his years as an active musician, Maceo Parker has become a precursor in jazz and funk music. Together with James Brown, he has become one of the primary architects of today's one-chord-based-groove-sound, which is found in major parts of today's popular music. He has also meant a lot to the development and the spreading of funk music around the world. If it wouldn't been for strong inventive musicians like Maceo Parker, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and Prince ( just to mention a few), the so called "Funkateer Movement" perhaps never would taken place in the 1970s.