Zeena Parkins | |
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![]() Parkins in April 5, 2008 | |
Background information | |
Born | 1956 (age 67–68) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
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Instrument(s) | |
Years active | 1980s–present |
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Website | www |
Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp".[1] Parkins performs on standard harps, several custom electric harps, piano, and accordion. She is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and professor in the Music Department at Mills College.[2]
Born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, Parkins studied at Bard College and moved to New York City in 1984.[3] Her work ranges from solo performance to large ensembles.[2] Besides standard and electric harps, her work also incorporates Foley, field recordings, analog synthesizers, samplers, oscillators and homemade instruments.
She has recorded six solo harp records[2] and recorded and performed with Björk,[4] Matmos, Ikue Mori, Fred Frith, Tom Cora, Christian Marclay, Yoko Ono,[5] John Zorn (including in Cobra performances),[3] Chris Cutler, Pauline Oliveros,[6] Nels Cline,[7] Elliott Sharp,[8] Lee Ranaldo,[9] Butch Morris,[10] Tin Hat Trio,[11] William Winant,[12] Anthony Braxton, Bobby Previte,[13] Courtney Love's band Hole,[14] and others. She has also been a member of a number of experimental rock bands, including No Safety,[15] News from Babel,[16] and Skeleton Crew.[3]
Parkins worked with dance companies and choreographers, including the John Jasperse Company, Jennifer Monson,[17] Neil Greenberg, and Emmanuelle Vo-Dinh, and has won three Bessie Awards for her achievement in composition for dance.[2]
She provided scores for filmmakers including Abigail Child,[18] Isabella Rossellini,[19] and Cynthia Madansky.[20][2]
Parkins received a 1997 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.[21]
Release year | Title | Label | Additional personnel |
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1987 | Something Out There | No Man's Land | Sam Bennett, Cora, Wayne Horvitz, Christian Marclay, Jim Mineses, Ikue Mori, James Staley |
1992 | Ursa’s Door | Les Disques Victo | Mori, Chris Cochrane, Sara Parkins, Maggie Parkins |
1993 | Nightmare Alley | Table of the Elements | |
1995 | Isabelle | Avant | S. Parkins, M. Parkins, Lisa Crowder |
1996 | Mouth=Maul=Betrayer | Tzadik | S. Parkins, M. Parkins, Mark Stewart, Jim Pugliese ft. Carsten Dane, Mattthias Breitenbach, Andy Hass |
1998 | No Way Back | Atavistic | |
1999 | The Opium War: A Radio Play | Einstein Records | Text by Ana María Simo; ft. M. Parkins, Ikue Mori, Joe Trump, Cochrane, David Shea, DJ Olive, DD Dorvillier, Jonathan Bepler, Tenko |
1999 | Pan-Acousticon | Tzadik | S. Parkins, M. Parkins, Stewart, Pugliese, ft. Trump |
2004 | Devotion | Table of the Elements | |
2006 | Necklace | Tzadik | Doug Henderson, Eclipse Quartet: S. Parkins, Sara Thorblade, Joanna Hood, M. Parkins |
2010 | Between the Whiles | Table of the Elements | luciana achugar, Levi Gonzalez, Eleanor Hullihan, S. Parkins, Pugliese |
2012 | Double Dupe Down | Tzadik | Mori, Marclay, Shelley Hirsch, Okkyung Lee, S. Parkins, M. Parkins, Staley, Matthew Welch, David Watson, William Winant, Pugliese |
2013 | The Adorables | Crytogramophone | Parkins, Shayna Dunkelman, Preshish Moments, ft. Deep Singh, Dave Sharma, Kristin Slipp, Danny Blume |
2016 | Three Harps, Tuning Forks & Electronics | Good Child Music | Nuiko Wadden, Kristen Theriault, Megan Conley ft. Mori |
2018 | Captiva | Good Child Music | Matthew Ostrowski |
With Björk
With Alex Cline
With Nels Cline
With Fred Frith
With Maybe Monday
With Yoko Ono
With Marc Ribot
With John Zorn
With Tin Hat Trio
With Bobby Previte