The performance experience of guitarist Bill Parsons encompasses jazz, improvised, concert, popular, and world music. As a composer and arranger, he has worked within a wide range of musical settings from jazz and concert music to interdisciplinary works with filmmakers, photographers, theatre directors, and choreographers. Bill Parsons also writes poetry, lyrics, and has co-written a screenplay.
At present, Bill Parsons performs locally and internationally with Evergreen Club contemporary gamelan – an octet which performs and records new music by international composers for their Sundanese gamelan, and with Glass Orchestra – a quartet performing composed and improvised music for glass instruments. Bill is also developing Mosaïc – a minimalist jazz septet with a contemporary sensibility for which he composes, performs and records; collaborates with visual artist Chuck Samuels – their most recent work, Movie/Music, is a series of videos created for the music of Mosaïc and Bill Parsons; performs with Ulysse, a Montréal based chamber-jazz septet; teaches music; and studies film.
Bill Parsons is also currently co-developing three other ensembles: Ferro Baci, a “prepared” electric guitar trio; Pirate Jenny, a voice, guitar, percussion trio which interprets cabaret music and creates original songs; and Sunda Duo, which features Indonesian kacapi (20 string plucked zither) and suling (bamboo flute).