J D Parran is an American multi-woodwind player, educator, and composer specializing in jazz and free improvisation, playing a range of saxophones, clarinets and flutes. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended Webster University and received an M.A. in music education from Washington University, he was a founding member of the Black Artist Group (BAG), participating in the early artistic statements of Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, James Jabbo Ware, Hamiett Bluiet, and Baikida Carroll. He moved to New York City in 1971, and has since worked across the musical spectrum with artists ranging from Paul Simon, The Band and John Lennon & Yoko Ono, to Henry Threadgill, George Lewis and Cecil Taylor. He has appeared on scores of recordings, and made many appearances in Roulette’s Interpretations series and Arts for Art’s Vision Festival, as well as the New York AACM series. In 2023 he appeared as soloist in the Metropolitan Opera production of Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. He has taught at the Harlem School of the Arts, the City University of New York and Greenwich House Music School, where he also presents regular concerts by his unique Dance Clarinets ensemble.

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