Jeff Parker - ETA IVtet - The Way Out of Easy - 2 LPs

Jeff Parker
w/ ETA IVtet - The Way Out of Easy
International Anthem / Nonesuch 089 - 2 HQ LPs in a thick gatefold jacket 

Led by guitarist Jeff Parker, featuring saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Jay Bellerose, the ETA IVtet is a band that grew out of a weekly residency started by Parker in 2016 at Northeast Los Angeles venue ETA.Over 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. With 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. It certainly helped that the renown and résumé of every musician in the ensemble grew significantly between 2016 and 2023. Parker and Bellerose were already well-established veterans in 2016 – the former for his work with Tortoise, Chicago Underground, Isotope 217,  and myriad recording dates under his own name; the latter for a huge sideman CV including work with Allen Toussaint, Robert Plant, and Joe Henry – but Butterss and Johnson were relative newcomers in the early days. Butterss has since become a high-tier first-call bassist, playing with the likes of Jason Isbell, Phoebe Bridgers, Makaya McCraven, and Madison Cunningham; while Johnson has run the gamut of studio and live work, notably doing an extended stint as Leon Bridges musical director, and producing Meshell Ndegeocello’s Grammy winning 2023 album The Omnichord Real Book. Also in that time Butterss released a solo debut and a followup (Activities in 2022 and Mighty Vertebrate in 2024), Johnson a debut and a followup (Freedom Exercise in 2020 and UnusualObject in 2024), and Parker released a run of critically acclaimed albums: The New Breed (2016), Slight Freedom (2016), Suite for Max Brown (2020), Forfolks (2021), and Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy (2022). 
The Way Out of Easy was recorded live by Bryce Gonzales at ETA, Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA on Jan 2nd, 2023. 

     Tracks are: (one track per side)
Freakadelic
Late Autumn 
Easy Way Out
Chrome Dome 

NEW, but open 2 LP set in a thick gatefold jacket. (most, if not all IA releases come packaged in an open thick plastic sleeve)