Horace Parlan

Horace Parlan (January 19, 1931, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – February 23, 2017, Korsør, Denmark) was an American hard bop and post-bop pianist and composer.

He was known for his contributions to the Charles Mingus recordings Mingus Ah Um and Blues & Roots.

In his birth year, Parlan was stricken with polio, resulting in the partial crippling of his right hand. The handicap, though, contributed to his development of a particularly "pungent" left-hand chord voicing style, while comping with highly rhythmic phrases with the right.

Between 1952 and 1957, he worked in Washington DC with Sonny Stitt and then spent two years with Mingus' Jazz Workshop. In 1973, Parlan moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. He later settled in the small village of Rude in southern Zealand. In 1974 he completed a State Department tour of Africa with Hal Singer.

His later work, such as a series of duos with the tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, included the album Goin' Home, was steeped in gospel music.

Parlan received the 2000 Ben Webster Prize awarded by the Ben Webster Foundation.

As leader

• Movin' & Groovin' (Blue Note, 1960)
• Us Three (Blue Note, 1960)
• Speakin' My Piece (Blue Note, 1960)
• Headin' South (Blue Note, 1960)
• On the Spur of the Moment (Blue Note, 1961)
• Up & Down (Blue Note, 1961)
• Happy Frame of Mind (Blue Note, 1963)
• Arrival (SteepleChase, 1974)
• No Blues (Steeplechase, 1975)
• Frank-ly Speaking (Steeplechase, 1977)
• Goin' Home (Steeplechase, 1977)
• Trouble in Mind (Steeplechase, 1980)
• Blue Parlan (Steeplechase, 1978)
• Hi-Fly (Steeplechase, 1978)
• Musically Yours (Steeplechase, 1979)
• The Maestro (Steeplechase, 1979)
• Pannonica (Enja, 1981)
• Like Someone in Love (Steeplechase, 1983)
• Glad I Found You (Steeplechase, 1984)
• Little Esther (Soul Note, 1987)
• Alone (Steeplechase)
• We Three (Teichiku, 1997)
• Kojo No Tsuki (M & I Jazz, 1998)
• Relaxin' With Horace (Stunt, 2004)

As sideman

With Gene Ammons

• Gene Ammons in Sweden (Enja, 1973 [1981])

With Dave Bailey

• One Foot in the Gutter (Epic, 1960)
• Gettin' Into Somethin' (Epic, 1961)

With Al Cohn and Zoot Sims

• Motoring Along (Sonet, 1975)

With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

• Tough Tenor Favorites (Jazzland, 1962) – with Johnny Griffin
• Goin' to the Meeting (Prestige, 1962)
• Jaw's Blues (Enja, 1981)

With Lou Donaldson

• The Time is Right (Blue Note, 1959)
• Sunny Side Up (Blue Note, 1960)
• Midnight Sun (Blue Note, 1960 [1980])

With Pierre Dorge

• The Jazzpar Prize (Enja, 1992)

With Booker Ervin

• That's It! (Candid, 1961)
• Exultation! (Prestige, 1963)

With Dexter Gordon

• Doin' Allright (Blue Note, 1961)
• Stable Mable (SteepleChase, 1975)

With Slide Hampton

• Jazz with a Twist (Atlantic, 1962)
• Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton (Atlantic, 1962)

With Langston Hughes

• Weary Blues (MGM, 1958)

With Roland Kirk

• Gifts & Messages (Mercury, 1964)
• I Talk with the Spirits (Limelight, 1964)
• Slightly Latin (Limelight, 1965)

With Charles Mingus

• Blues & Roots (Atlantic, 1959)
• Mingus Ah Um (Columbia, 1959)
• A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry (Bethlehem, 1957)

With Doug Raney

• I'll Close My Eyes (SteepleChase, 1982)
• Meeting the Tenors (Criss Cross, 1983)

With Archie Shepp

• Goin' Home (SteepleChase, 1977)
• Trouble in Mind (SteepleChase, 1980)
• Black Ballads (Timeless, 1992)

With Idrees Sulieman

• Bird's Grass (SteepleChase, 1976 [1985])
• Groovin' (SteepleChase, 1985)

With Stanley Turrentine

• Look Out! (Blue Note, 1960)
• Comin' Your Way (Blue Note, 1961)
• Up at "Minton's" (Blue Note, 1961)
• Jubilee Shout!!! (Blue Note, 1962)
• Salt Song (CTI, 1971)

With Tommy Turrentine

• Tommy Turrentine (Time, 1960)

With various artists

• A Moon of Roses