There is something about the long form. It constantly reminds you that the length of most jazz compositions is an artificial construct, arising from its history and the evolution of music technology. It is also still a relatively rare beast, if you consider that jazz’s greatest composer, Duke Ellington, often produced works lasting quarter of an hour or more. But if innovation in such music can be sustained, as in this case, it can also be a liberating structure.

This album was recorded live on 2 Jan 2023, towards the end of the Jeff Parker ETA IVtet’s seven-year long Monday night residency at the ETA club in Los Angeles. It therefore represents the outcome of their gradual evolution from playing mostly standards to finding their own distinct sound, a grooving but often minimalist improvised music that journeys towards a place of relaxed humanity. The four tracks, beautifully recorded and mixed by engineer Bryce Gonsalves, range from almost 17 to 24 minutes in length and create a hypnotic, restrained and mantra-like vibe that will resonate long with the listener.

The other members of the quartet, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson, share the compositional credits on the album, except for the opening track “Freakadelic”, a tune Parker originally recorded in 2012. There is a very intricate collaborative feel to the songs that transcends the typical circle of soloing in conventional jazz. This feels more like the normal unscripted back and forth chat between friends. Friends who know each well enough not to be surprised by an unexpected turn in the conversation, because it’s all cool. Indeed if asked for one phrase that would encapsulate the overall feel of the album, I would say it’s music in a safe space.

The opening track ‘Freakadelic’ is anchored by a slow, funky and authoritative bass line from Butterss, followed by a wonderful conversation between Johnson’s sax and Parker’s guitar, the latter reminding me of Grant Green in his reflectiveness. Towards the end, Johnson’s sax feels like a murmuration, revealing a precious secret we have journeyed far to hear. In ‘Late Autumn’ Parker begins with a series of plucked arpeggios before Johnson joins in with a plaintive sax response, sad and moving. The splashes from Bellerose’s cymbals and the heavy drops from the bass are extremely evocative of the title. This is ensemble playing of a very high sensibility, capped by a haunting melody guitar line from Parker that leads us to the end of the track. The same rhythm mastery from Butterss and Bellerose is evident in ‘Easy Way Out’ a soulful and mindful tune also led out by the bass. The album then ends with ‘Chrome Dome’, a reggae/dub groove, with Johnson’s unaccompanied sax first calling out like an exotic bird before the band settles into its improvisations, the electronic effects more in evidence this time, until the rhythm eventually descends to a gentle end, leaving the listener relaxed and not a little moved.

The album also seems to me to fully realise the leader’s vision of how the music should sound. He is clearly strongly influenced by the rise of music software and its use of looping, beats and droning. It’s telling that the album sleeve notes state that he plays electric guitar with electronics and sampler. Parker has of course often made clear his love of classic old-school hip hop and of using static spaces like loops within which to improvise. The ETA IVtet sound that has evolved to this point will connect strongly with a generation with music production software on their laptops and every producer and hip-hop songwriter from DJ Premier to Kendrick Lamar in their hearts. So it is no surprise that Parker is having a significant and influential moment. This is an important album, of its time.

from https://ukjazznews.com