Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy is an album by the American jazz double bassist William Parker, recorded in 1995 and released on Homestead.

Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy
Studio album by William Parker
Released	1996
Recorded	December 18, 1995
Studio	Tedesco Studio, Paramus, NJ
Genre	Jazz
Length	69:29
Label	Homestead
Producer	William Parker
William Parker chronology
Testimony (1995) Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy (1996) Sunrise in the Tone World (1997)

The album is the third part of a sound trilogy including the sextet In Order to Survive and the solo bass Testimony. In Order to Survive is the name of the ensemble, a quartet with Rob Brown on alto sax, Cooper-Moore on piano, and newcomer Susie Ibarra on drums. "Unrestricted" is a piano-drums duo dedicated to saxophonist Julius Hemphill. "Goggles" is dedicated to bassist Earl Freeman. "For Robeson" is for Paul Robeson. "Malcolm's Smiles" is for Malcolm X. The cover art is a "MusicWitness" painting made during live recording by Jeff Schlanger.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[3]

In his review for AllMusic, Don Snowden states "Slack moments are rare and the evenly balanced contributions of all four musicians make this a fine example of freewheeling collective improvisation."[2] The Penguin Guide to Jazz says that compared with the previous album the tracks "are more developed and feature some of the bassist's very best writing."[3] In a double review for the Chicago Reader, Peter Margasak says that Parker's original compositions "employ a variety of melodic and structural gambits toward a single goal: highly sensitive and all-enveloping improvisation."[4] In an article for the Boston Phoenix Ed Hazell notes that "Each track is a cathartic cry from the heart, complex, yet with utter clarity of structure."[5]

Track listing

All compositions by William Parker

1. "Compassion" – 10:38
2. "Malcom's Smile" – 9:44
3. "For Robeson" – 5:41
4. "Holiday for Hypocrites" – 8:10
5. "Testimony of the Last Flower" – 0:37
6. "Dejenos en Paz" – 8:05
7. "Unrestricted (for Julius Hemphill)" – 5:42
8. "Goggles" – 10:53
9. "The Eye of the Window" – 9:59

Personnel

• William Parker – bass
• Susie Ibarra – drums
• Rob Brown – alto sax
• Cooper-Moore – piano

References