JD Parran

J D Parran is an American multi-woodwind player, educator, and composer specializing in jazz and free improvisation. J.D. plays the soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass saxophone, as well as the E-flat clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, contra-alto clarinet, piccolo, alto flute, bamboo flute, Native American flute, bass flute, and bamboo saxophone. 

Parran spent his college years in St. Louis, Missouri, where he attended Webster University and received an M.A. in music education from Washington University in St. Louis. In his hometown, St Louis, J D was a founding member of the Black Artist Group (BAG), where he participated 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 served as chairman of the music department and the director of Jazz and African American Music Studies at The Harlem School of the Arts. He has taught at the City University of New York and Greenwich House Music School. 

J D teaches clarinets, saxophones, and flutes at Greenwich House Music School, where for the past 12 years he has led the jazz orchestra, Dance Clarinets, as bandleader and founder. This performing group presents concerts there each year, most recently headlining in the Black Composers Upsouth series in 2025. 

His recordings including You Have the Right to Remain Silent, Andrew’s Hill’s Beautiful Day and Marty Ehrlich’s Trumpet in the Morning have garnered critical acclaim for him as a soloist. Mr. Parran also appears on two Broadway cast albums, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Lena Horne, The Lady and her Music. J D Parran’s recordings include his solo CD Window Spirits, Omegathorp and California Street Sessions both with Mark Deutsch, Spirit Stage with Shirley LeFlore and Kokpilau with Michael Castro. 

He has made many appearances on the Interpretations series and New York’s Vision Festival, as well as the New York AACM series. In 2023 he appeared as soloist in Metropolitan Opera production of Anthony Davis’ first opera, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. J D performed with Mr. Davis for many years in the chamber ensemble Episteme. He has also performed with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, The Band, Nels Cline, John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Edward Kidd Jordan, Reggie Workman, William Parker, Thomas Buckner, Jason Robinson, Scott Robinson, Lena Horne, Bill Dixon, Lena Horne, Cecil Taylor, Amiri Baraka, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Jamal Moore, Luke Stewart, George Lewis, Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, Lester Bowie, Randy Weston, Rosemary George,  David Darling, Douglas Ewart and many others.