Centering Records

Lois Eby: Eby's art draws from several strands of influence, including Asian ink painting, Zen ink painting in particular, African American improvised music, & the exploration of abstraction in Western art since Cezanne & Kandinsky. WP: "I was first introduced to her work in 1986 through a series of drawings she did for a book called From Down to the Village; these drawings both changed and saved my life. In her world, the little things become big things and life's preciousness is always echoing, moving into a stillness that is epic in its subtlety. Later I was introduced to her paintings, which are full of broad strokes and bright colors." See loiseby.com

Anne Humanfeld: Humanfeld works in a variety of media: oil & acrylic on canvas, felt & other fabrics, etching, monoprint, & woodcut. She also creates recombinations of found imagery, often with elements of drawing & painting. She has lectured & been a visiting artist at institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Art, Williams College, & UC Berkeley. WP: "There is grandness to the art of Anne Humanfeld; her work is full of images and figures that take us to another world - a world that is full of adventure and wondrous tales or legends, a world filled with characters & symbols that you want to know more about." See annehumanfeld.com

Jo Wood-Brown: Wood-Brown is a multimedia artist based in NYC who has exhibited widely as a painter & an installation artist in galleries & site-specific locations throughout the US & Europe. She is the founder of Artist Exchange International. WP: "Jo Wood-Brown has devoted her life to the song of seeing and transforming images. In her work I see the unveiling of many layers of site language. The images all speak in their way, and Jo is not afraid to let them be. Her work achieves the perfect balance of knowing enough to follow the voice, listening to it without putting words in its mouth." See jowoodbrown.com

Marilyn Sontag (1936-2018): Sontag combined a wide range of materials with painting to create layered, multifaceted pieces. She often integrated sharp geometric lines with organic shapes & striking color. She taught studio art at Baruch College & was coordinator & curatorial supervisor of exhibitions at Synagogue for the Arts Gallery Space. WP: "She was able to capture the soul of each color on the canvas, almost as if a flower were to dip itself in paint then dance over the canvas. ... This happens in whatever media she works in: small collages, linoleum cuts, cloth, or cardboard - it all sings, in a very musical way."

William Parker wears many hats, including: musician, improviser, composer, organizer, writer, publisher, educator, advocate, & historian. One of his roots is from the deep in the tradition of self-determination & documentation. In his liner notes to Mayor of Punkville by the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, Parker writes of majority of musicians who "will most likely not be remembered in this history books" & his intent to "document the contributors to the spiritual equilibrium."

His initiatives in this area have taken many forms. One of the most substantial is Conversations, collections of his in-depth discussions with musicians & artists from both his immediate & extended communities. To date, RogueArt has published four of these anthologies, a total of 120+ interviews & over 2,000 pages.

Parker also produces Voices in the First Person on his Centering imprint. These books devote full chapters the spotlighted artists, which usually include wide-ranging discussions about their lives & art, samples of the artists’ works, & personal photographs. Volume 2, published in 2023 in an offset-printed edition of 500, offers chapters about:

Alan "Juice" Glover: Born in the Bronx, NY, Glover's artistic life has been one of social activism & expression in a variety of art forms. His early work as a filmmaker during the civil rights movement dealt with powerful themes of cultural & political consciousness. During the 1970s, Glover turned his attention to music, performing extensively with his ensemble The Juice Quartet. In Manhattan's East Village he founded the Firehouse Theater, a community arts center & important early influence on the movement later known as loft jazz. His music retains this dedication to social commentary, often embedding these themes directly into the structure of his compositions, performances, & liner notes. His chapter in Voices includes two of his essays: "Political, Social Activism" & "Spirituality & Theology: A View from the Cleft." WP: "I met Alan in 1973 and began training in advanced music rooted in the tradition of being oneself. Alan is a multidimensional renaissance person, improviser, composer, inventor, photographer, and filmmaker who has moved through several phases of creativity...He continues to explore the many manifestations of enlightenment." See also his chapter in the first volume of Conversations as well as the CDs & DVDs on his Omolade Music imprint.

Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson: Born in Oklahoma City, Nelson is a composer & improvisor whose primary instrument is the trumpet. His significant early studies include with Iannis Xenakis, John Eaton, & Gunther Schuller. He has composed works for music theatre, orchestra, choirs, chamber music, & free-improvisation ensembles that have been performed in North and South America, Europe, & Japan. He has lived in Biel, Switzerland, since 1994. His most recent book, Words by Memory and Other Words, was published in 2019. See also his chapter in the first volume of Conversations & this video of J-KN & WP performing in Tompkins Square Park c.1989. WP: "Jalalu was born with a special gift: the ability to hear his dreams. And translate them into Sound, words, and images...Wherever he is, the joy of music follows...Dancing into the horizon, constantly interacting with beautiful worlds of Sound and silence. Jalalu is unique in his vision of creativity." See j-knelson.com

Born in Newark, NJ, trombonist/composer Steve Swell has been highly active in the NYC music community since 1975. He has toured and recorded with mainstream artists such as Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich, as well as more contemporary artists that include Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, & William Parker. He has over 50 CDs as a leader or co-leader & is a featured artist on more than 125 other releases. He runs workshops around the world and is a teaching artist in the NYC public school system, focusing on special needs children. See also his chapter in Conversations II: Dialogues and Monologues. WP: "In this book, he shares another side of himself; we get a glimpse of his poetry, visual art, and musical composition. He has been consistently productive…soaring above America's anti-artist environment to allow beautiful things to flow through him." See steveswell.com

Christopher Collins (1936-2022) was a professor of English at New York University. He authored many books & was a prolific creator of artworks that engage with a wide array of materials & approaches. His chapter is comprised entirely of his art, including writings (prose & poetry), paintings, carvings, drawings, woodcuts, & masks. WP: "Christopher was a human being who loved nature. On its terms. He acknowledged the majesty of trees, streams, and back roads. He knew how to bring out and show the beauty of simple things...Poet and philosopher visual artist, he danced to his inner song living on the edge for eighty-five years as a reluctant divine." Voices in the First Person, Vol. 2 is dedicated to him.

When You Smile The Big Orange Mountain Cries presents 52 poems by Little Huey, 1967-1970. New June 2024 reprint, a saddle-stitched chapbook, 24 pages on 100# satin, published in an edition of 50 on Parker's Centering imprint. Just a modest number of copies here.