In the last decade, no musician has been more formative to my musical tastes and listening than Jeff Parker. While I wasn't lucky enough to overlap with him living in Chicago (he left for LA in 2013, while I was there 2015-2018), his influence on the scene, notably through drummer Makaya McCraven's "beat scientist" recordings that started with In the Moment, was still felt. I love it all: the beat tape deconstructions of The New Breed, the sparse loops of Slight Freedom and Forfolks, his contributions to Tortoise (beginning with the classic TNT), and and above all, the patient and hypnotic evolving grooves of the the ETA IVtet, whose most recent record, Happy Today, arrived this past Friday.

I love a good profile or interview with an artist. Anything that reveals their own journey and inspirations that shaped their artistic development is cat nip for me. For as much as I love Jeff's music, he's content to stay out of the spotlight, which makes a profile like this such a wonderful surprise. I particularly loved this quote from ETA IVtet drummer Jay Bellerose:

“The difference between a really great musical experience and a really long night is listening,” Bellerose says. “Jeff has the patience to be able to listen to what’s being said. He’s always leading the charge, but he’s very generous in letting people say what they need to say.”

Providing space, patience, and a deep commitment to listening are so core to this group, and it's gratifying to hear one of its own members articulate that philosophy. To quote Peter Margasak's review of Happy Today:

I’ve got all of the group’s albums loaded on my digital music player, each added as they’ve arrived, and there have been multiple occasions where I’ve let them flow into each other for several hours. It’s the sound of eternity, not because it never ends, but because I never want it to end.

Jeff Parker forever. ❤️