Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents Parker
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents R&B funk legend Maceo Parker and his band at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Byham Theater.
Revered for his pedigree and leading the world’s “tightest funk orchestra,” the saxophone titan has played with funk legends James Brown, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, among others. Collaborations with Ray Charles, Ani Difranco, James Taylor, De La Soul, Dave Matthews and Red Hot Chili Peppers have introduced him to an exuberant, younger fan base.
“Everything’s coming up Maceo,” concluded DownBeat Magazine in a 1991 article at the beginning of Maceo Parker’s solo career. At the time, Maceo was remembered by aficionados of funk music as a sideman, appreciated mainly by those in the know.
For the past two decades, Maceo has been building a new funk empire, fresh and stylistically diverse, navigating deftly between James Brown’s 1960s soul and George Clinton’s 1970s freaky funk while exploring mellower jazz and the grooves of hip-hop. His solo career recording highlights include 10 weeks at the top of Billboards Jazz Charts for his recording Roots Revisited (1990) and funk fan favorite “Live on Planet Groove,” recorded live in 1992. Parker’s recordings “Funk Overload,” “Dial M-A-C-E-O” and “Made by Maceo” all reached the top 40 charts in Europe.
This performance is part of the 2010-2011 Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents series. Tickets may be purchased at the box office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Ave., online at pgharts.org, or by calling 412-456-6666.