Guitarist Jeff Parker built his reputation in Chicago with Tortoise, The Chicago Underground Trio, and Isotope 217 and as a member of the AACM as well as other wide ranging endeavors. Yet his home base has been Los Angeles since 2016. He and his band, the ETA IVtet, held a Monday residency at the since-shuttered club ETA, where this album, The Way Out of Easy, was recorded on January 2nd, 2023. The group had developed quite a following, holding down that residency for seven years. What began as a band playing primarily standards evolved into one known for improvised, intriguing, long-form journeys that could run as long as 45 minutes. Don’t worry. These, too, are long tracks but only half as long.
Before this date, Parker had released a collection of solo guitar works, Forfolks (2021, International Anthem/Nonesuch) and Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy (2022, Eremite), a double LP with this same ensemble of alto saxophonist and Grammy-winning producer Josh Johnson, Australian-born bassist Anna Butterss, and one of the most in-demand of his time, drummer Jay Bellerose. Both Johnson and Parker use pedals for effects. The Way Out of Easy stays true to the latter formula, recorded and mixed live by the engineer Bryce Gonzalez.
Bellerose and Butterss lay down a simple, repetitive groove in the opener, “Freakadelic,” an extended take on a tune that appeared on Parker’s Delmark release Bright Light in Winter. Johnson jumps in first, weaving his lines over the incessant beat for a full four minutes before Parker enters in his typically minimalist approach, floating above the bass-drum tandem. Like so many of Parker’s tunes, this meshes jazz with R&B, blues, and psychedelia elements that begin to creep in about halfway through. The relentless groove prevails throughout, with the interplay of Johnson and Parker bringing intrigue and unpredictability from the midway point to the exit, mixing short bursts with massively elongated lines. Parker plays a repetitive riff that brings it into hypnotic territory two-thirds of the way through, with Johnson’s staccato approach contrary to that flow. As we say, it’s a journey that concludes ever so quietly with Bellerose’s nimble brushwork.
Standout track “Late Autumn” is dreamy and otherworldly, beginning with Parker soloing in much the way he did on Forfolks, in a cyclical, trance-like fashion before the ensemble kicks in with Johnson’s alto floating ever so gently over the ethereal backdrop; it’s as if one can hear light rain falling on a mat of dampened leaves, leaving a mild scent in the air. It’s a simple idea that develops much larger with multi-texture embellishments via effects and Bellerose’s astute work on the kit, especially his use of cymbals. Parker too, places his notes judiciously, rounding out the overall sound rather than dominating it.
“Easy Way Out’’ takes further into the ether, another heavy dose of mostly calm but utterly mysterious soundscapes that also builds on a simple idea that the ensemble continually shape-shifts with Bellerose’s kit work, again most noteworthy as well as Johnson’s improvised bevy of ideas as counterpoint to Parker’s relatively sparse one note at a time approach. Butterrs and Bellerose get their say in a lively dialogue as well. Like the previous three, the ending has the quartet decelerating and evaporating. Unlike their sets that typically close with a standard, Johnson begins a meditative improv that morphs into a dub/reggae groove for “Chrome Dome,” with the exchanges between Johnson and Parker becoming sharp and aggressive with Bellerose creating a polyrhythmic underpinning that elicits some audible responses from the rapt audience.
All four of these pieces revolve around a simple idea, with the band wringing every possible nuance from that primary platform. Although Johnson and Parker are exploratory, the vibe remains calm and within guardrails. Collectively, the four are the musical equivalent of a fresh shower. The listener emerges renewed.
Although the ETA venue is now defunct, Parker carries its name and spirit forward with the ensemble, who will be touring and notably appearing at Big Ears 2025.
