{"product_id":"jeff-parker-eta-ivtet-the-way-out-of-easy","title":"JEFF PARKER \u0026 ETA IVTET - The Way Out Of Easy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\" mce-data-marked=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCD - in bespoke tip-on CD jacket. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJanuary 2nd, 2023. Aside from being the second of a new year, it was a pretty ordinary night at ETA in Los Angeles, where guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eJeff Parker\u003c\/strong\u003e - alongside his \u003cstrong\u003eETA IVtet\u003c\/strong\u003e with saxophonist \u003cstrong\u003eJosh Johnson\u003c\/strong\u003e, bassist \u003cstrong\u003eAnna Butterss\u003c\/strong\u003e, and drummer \u003cstrong\u003eJay Bellerose\u003c\/strong\u003e - had been holding down a regular Monday gig since 2016. At the time, nobody knew it was the first gig of the last year that ETA would be open for business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOver seven years of holding down that residency, Parker’s ETA ensemble evolved from a band that played mostly standards into a group known for its transcendent, long-form (sometimes stretching out for 45 minutes or more) journeys into innovative, often uncharted territories of groove-oriented, painterly, polyrhythmic, minimalist and mantric improvised music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith that musical growth, the crowds for Parker and his band at ETA grew across the years too. What started as a sparse gathering of weeknight drinkers, friends, family, and Chicago expats (coming to get a shot of nostalgia for the atmospheres Parker used to create at Rodan across the ‘00s and early ‘10s) grew into a Los Angeles nightlife staple with a packed house and a line of down the block for every show.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy January 2023 interest in Parker’s music was stronger than ever, coming off successes with the December 2021 International Anthem\/Nonesuch release of \u003cem\u003eForfolks\u003c\/em\u003e – a collection of solo guitar works – and the October 2022 Eremite release of Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, a double LP chronicling the ETA IVtet’s distinct, expansive approach to improvisation across four side-length tracks recorded and mixed live by engineer \u003cstrong\u003eBryce Gonzales\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMondays introduced the world to the ETA IVtet’s signature sound with a gathering of unnamed recordings from dates between 2019 and 2021. Parker’s new ETA IVtet offering stays true to that formula in some ways – as he returns to Gonzales’s archive of analog captures to gather four long recordings totalling around 80 minutes – while zooming in on a more particular moment in his journey. \u003cem\u003eThe Way Out of Easy\u003c\/em\u003e provides us a macro-lens view of the ever-refining, infinite organic essence of the ensemble as they stretch out across a single night of soundmaking on January 2nd, 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe engineer Gonzales is well known for the high-end audio gear he builds as \u003cstrong\u003eHighland Dynamics\u003c\/strong\u003e, and even designed a custom mixer to be able to record the ETA IVtet, specifically, while only taking up a single space at the bar. In his liner notes for \u003cem\u003eThe Way Out of Easy\u003c\/em\u003e, he colors his process and approach: “There are many different ways to make recordings and they all have their place. But for this band, the most important thing to consider is: not doing anything to get in the way of what they are saying to each other.” He refers to the simple schematic he used for capturing these performances – “basically only 4 level controls for one microphone per player” – which allows us an incredibly pure, honest, transparent and transporting experience of the music as it unfolds and is created in real time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe set begins with an extended take on Parker’s composition “\u003cem\u003eFreakadelic\u003c\/em\u003e” – a tune he originally recorded for his 2012 Delmark release \u003cem\u003eBright Light in Winter\u003c\/em\u003e. The B-side piece “\u003cem\u003eLate Autumn\u003c\/em\u003e” finds Parker swaying in alliterative, arpeggiating cycles, using just a few plucked notes as he lays the compositional foundation. At first it almost sounds like an echo of the humble tunes he wrote alone with his guitar on \u003cem\u003eForfolks\u003c\/em\u003e, but in this space his ensemble joins him to help build a beautifully multi-textured, gently-shifting four-dimensional construction out of a simple idea. On “\u003cem\u003eEasy Way Out\u003c\/em\u003e,” Butterss’s bobbing bass line leads, paddling the ensemble into a placid expanse of tender psychedelia while Bellerose dusts off the drums like an archaeologist unearthing ancient artifacts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt had become customary for the IVtet to end their shows every week with a standard or a tune – a practice that Parker embraced for wanting to give the audience something warm and familiar to take home after a long night of taking them out on creative limbs. Some of Parker’s more common calls were “\u003cem\u003eThis Guy’s In Love With You\u003c\/em\u003e” by Burt Bacharach, “\u003cem\u003e1974 Blues\u003c\/em\u003e” by Eddie Harris, or “\u003cem\u003ePeace\u003c\/em\u003e” by Horace Silver. In this set, the IVtet closes not with a familiar song, but a familiar sound in the form of a dub\/reggae groove (given the name “\u003cem\u003eChrome Dome\u003c\/em\u003e” by Parker in post), developing spontaneously out of lyrical ad libs by Johnson on solo saxophone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn early December of 2023, ETA co-owner \u003cstrong\u003eRyan Julio\u003c\/strong\u003e was forced to make a sudden announcement that the venue would permanently shutter at the end of the year. On December 23rd, Parker and the band played at ETA for the last time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn July 22nd, 2024, the ETA IVtet gathered to perform together for the first time since then, playing for a sold-out crowd of several hundred listeners – a smiling Ryan Julio among them – at Zebulon in Los Angeles. Gonzales was there, recording with his compact analog setup just behind the band on stage. The space may be gone but its spirit lives and the music moves forward into new vessels. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"International Anthem Recording Co.","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49438138958169,"sku":"SDZ-17180","price":18.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/Jeff_Parker_and_ETA_IVtet_-_The_Way_Out_Easy_-_2024.jpg?v=1728397672","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/jeff-parker-eta-ivtet-the-way-out-of-easy","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}