Jeff Parker

Lots of talk about Parker on the various jazz and International Anthem-oriented threads, but the guy needs his own thread, if only because the new Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy is absolutely phenomenal. Even after one listen, I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I can't believe people got to witness this music happening live. I also liked the recent Eastside Romp disc, though that one feels a little more low-key by design and doesn't feel like quite as much of a statement as the Eremite release.

YES.

I’d had the promo files for a while (and immediately ordered the 2xCD, which should arrive soon) but this is my record of the year, hands down.

Yeah I got the shipping notice for the 2xCD set the other day, hoping it arrives this weekend. I've heard great things.

I'm surprised by how often I've gone back to Forfolks, it's really tremendous.

I had no idea Jay Bellerose played drums on the new one. He's one of my faves.

Parker is just on fire these days — though maybe he's always on fire? The recent Psychic Temple Plays Planet Caravan is truly awesome: https://schlarb.bandcamp.com/album/plays-planet-caravan

Just saw him live with Makaya McCraven, totally incredible.

Yeah, the new one is reeeeallly good

Pretty perfect hour of music here

https://www.nts.live/shows/guests/episodes/jeff-parker-13th-july-2020

Okay, yeah, this Enfield Tennis Academy release is absolutely phenomenal, exceeded my already sky high expectations.

Has a track on this new Doc Watson comp that looks incredible

https://iamapilgrim.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-a-pilgrim-doc-watson-at-100

Nice, thanks for the heads-up. Also Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, and a Dolly Parton track that's presumably better than anything on her new album.

Thanks indeed---my double gateway of albums, appropriately for one so active and yes probably xpost always on fire, as tylerw speculates above----from Rolling Jazz 2020, with a little more added for annual blog round-up:

The new Jeff Parker,Suite For Max Brown, has instantly taken/held me for more of a first spin than any other album of recent release. No great solos, none needed, when grooves keep forming and flex like this. The most distinctive/least familiar element, to my ears, is the way he uses his Korg (etc.) for a sort of jar-of-lightning-bugs effect at the center, or to the side, or wherever it needs to go. He says he doesn't want to sit down and "fall into writing patterns," but the music is patterned, just enough. Also savor what the drums bring to the mesh, no matter who is playing: McCraven, Jamire Williams, Jay Bellerose, Parker himself. https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/suite-for-max-brown Well I guess I wouldn't mind "great solos" to take it further, but they don't seem nec. here, it ain't about any kind of solos.

*************************************************************************************

Parker and two who played on his album, Josh Johnson and Rob Mazurek, recently teamed with Chad Taylor for the first new Chicago Underground Quartet set since early 00s. Good Days has a good late night deep focus, cheerful and shaded,tone set by the elusive Alan Shorter's '69 "Orgasm" as opener, extended via dorsal fin sky roll of "Strange Wing," by far the longest track, moving right along like all. Mazrurek's cornet provides submarine lights when needed, Taylor's "solo log drum" piece "Lormé" fits right into the canopy----it's really not nec. late night weedio; my maiden voyage was midday, sober as I'll ever be:

https://astralcuq.bandcamp.com/album/good-days

― dow

Looking fwd to spending more time w/ that new Chi Underground Quartet! So far am liking its sustained mood more than Suite For Max Brown as a whole (although for me Parker's newest one's highs are super-high, for instance I am blown away by "Go Away" and to a slightly lesser extent the earlier track that adds, uh, electronic swirl to the same bass ostinato/groove, "Fusion Swirl")― Cysteine Chapo (Craig D.)

"Go Away" rules

― dip to dup (rob),

This happened and I only found out by accident

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/lados-b

Just leaving this here, since YouTube username Daniel has posted some incredible longform ETA IVtet crowd videos over the past year and a half or so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9yEgppRYo

Great record. He's having a hell of a year, and is also on this:

https://daveeasley.bandcamp.com/album/ballads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxIZurCfheM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhkvEvUy6qM

This happened and I only found out by accident

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/lados-b

Thanks for sharing!

i wrote the liners for that dave easley record, it is really extraordinary.

Very cool!

This is a recent Wayne Horvitz release that also features Jeff (not sure which track(s) though).

Also this Psychic Temple thing: https://schlarb.bandcamp.com/album/plays-planet-caravan

Finally getting to it---Ennis, anyone? Oh mannnng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqEFC9I7Slg

that's an Infinite Jest reference, isn't it?

Ya, it's the name of the venue.

here's a bit more (two performances, 44:06 total) from there, 1/2/2023--be ready for some visual detial, mainly audience members on the margin, occasionally wielding phones, but that's prob how we got this, with good sound, good music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9yEgppRYo

Thanks for that!!!

fro Rolling Jazz"

New Jeff Parker ETA IVtet live album announced by International Anthem was an instant pre-order for me, and I suspect others:

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/the-way-out-of-easy

― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, October 8, 2024 9:19 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I bit a few minutes ago (ie. also pre-ordered new ETA IVtet)--Int'l Anthem's CD shipping to Canada is very cheap on BC, which helped my decision to get the physical for it.

― Where did Boo Berry go (Craig D.)

Link to video of "Late Autumn," 17-minute advance track, several streaming options:
https://jeffparker.lnk.to/TheWayOutOfEasy

I just realized that the new record was taken from the same night as that Youtube video above. The new track from that album starts around 26:15 in the earlier clip.

Forgot we had a proper Parker thread, thanks.

He also plays on a track of Anna Butterss' 'Mighty Vertebrate'.

had no idea Butterss had a new album, a somewhat bad year for new releases imho has suddenly changed

I’m waiting for the full Anna B album to drop to dive into it

I have a promo stream of the forthcoming quartet LP. Will have to spend more time to see if it grabs me.

It rules imo — last track is this amazing dub deconstruction / reconstruction (all done live of course but sounds like it could be a Lee Scratch Perry production at points)

I sampled the available tracks on that Butterss record, but it just wasn't grabbing me yesterday.

Incredibly stoked for the new Parker quartet though, especially reading Tyler's comment!

Yeah, not trying to harsh anyone’s enjoyment! Sometimes it takes a few spins for me to grasp things.

yeah, i mean especially with this band! I've spun the first ETA record endlessly and it still sounds fresh and new every time.

oh man, i just now realized that IVTet should be read as "quartet" (and that Mondays at the Enfied Tennis Academy wasn't in fact some kind of collaboration with Four Tet).

Psyched for this. It's really felt like every jazz record of a certain stripe (hard to describe but easy to recognize, a sense of multi-genre awareness and mood?) has had to include him on at least one track, it's like an Andre 3000 rap (not flute!) cameo.

This happened and I only found out by accident

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/lados-b

― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Monday, October 23, 2023

Yeah, Daniel Villarreal with Jeff P. and Anna B amounts to big fun---here they are with him on a lot of Panama 77 as well:
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/panam-77

Lados B was a total snooze tho, and Panama 77 was brilliant at moments with a lot of snooze pillowing them. Just my take of course

Table, that’s ultimately how I felt about it. It was pretty but lacked something.

To be honest, I was underwhelmed too despite giving both albums a decent run in the car.

My favourite Jeff has been The New Breed and Suite For Max Brown. I found Mondays At The Enfield Tennis Academy very dry but need to give it a second go.

loooove The New Breed, feel like that one ended up getting lost in the shuffle of his discog

Both the initial ETA IVtet release and the preview track for the new one require more patience but it is rewarded imo

i understand finding it dry, but i almost kind of like that about it— it has a dusty, LA late afternoon quality about it. i listened to it on a bone dry day in NorCal in November 2022 and it was incredible, especially with a few tokes off the vape pen

Been revisiting and enjoying Forfolks recently. Need to listen to some of the recent stuff. He's definitely one of the handful of people who play jazz guitar in a way that genuinely resonates with me.

Love "Late Autumn" -- been playing it a lot in the past week

Y'know, I think I might just leave "Late Autumn" on a loop and be done with music.

absolutely _loving_ this new record

Hasn't quite clicked for me yet, but I was distracted when I listened. Thought the first tune was a bit of a snooze. Josh and Anna sound terrific though, as usual.

Reminding me that I need to check their current albums as well---here's Josh:
https://joshjohnsonmusic.bandcamp.com/album/unusual-object

Definitely warming up to this

Only half the album is streaming, right?

Yeah, that seems to be a relatively recent thing with International Anthem. I noticed with the Tomin album that it was only partially streaming until a few weeks after release date and then it got "full digital streaming release" separately.

Make sense, smart move. Maybe I'll pick up the vinyl the next time I'm in Chicago to save at least a few bucks on shipping.

This is just incredible, I love how dubbed-out "Chrome Dome" gets. Flawless music right here.

I think this album gets better as it goes on, with "Chrome Dome" being the obvious highlight. The first side of this is the first Parker-led thing I've heard that left me a tad underwhelmed, but it really picks up after that

Here is an audience recording of that first side/"Freakdelic"--seeing Jay Bellerose shift gears at 10:55 by adding the double-time breakbeat feel definitely adds something as opposed to just going off the record (although Bryce Gonzales' recording technique is great/perf IMO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T9yEgppRYo

In studio -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=625I_dR5SZg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA3d07QRF0M