Lisa “Paz” Parrott

An Australian who has been based in NY since the mid-1990s, alto and baritone saxophonist Lisa Parrott has worked with a range of prominent jazz artists and groups including Dave Brubeck, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mandel, Cindy Blackman, Jane Ira Bloom, Gunther Schuller, Marty Ehrlich’s Large Ensemble, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, Jimmy Heath’s Big Band and the Diva Jazz Orchestra. In 2020, Parrott was chosen to receive a Chamber Music America grant for her jazz septet project We Love Ornette. In 2022, she performed in Taylor Mac and Matt Ray’s “The Hang” at HERE Arts Center. She has been consistently recognised in the DownBeat Critics Polls and won the 2016 Rising Star category for baritone saxophone. Parrott has received Australian Arts Council grants to study with Steve Coleman (1993) and Lee Konitz (1997). She has toured and played in all 50 states of the US and all over Europe, and has been featured on over 40 albums. She cites her biggest musical influences as being Bernie McGann (Australia) and Ornette Coleman (USA).