As someone who is a member of the post-rock band Tortoise, the advanced modern jazz of Nicole Mitchell’s combo, a founding member of the Chicago Underground, the Scott Amendola Trio and until his death a couple of years ago, Fred Anderson’s band, I imagined the latest release by Jeff Parker as being this overtly aggressive, edgy blast of wicked noise. Or at the least, some heady fusion outing. Reading that effects and an old Korg monophonic synthesizer were used on this record only added to that expectation.
Instead, the album can be neatly summed up like this: mellow.
Parker’s pillowy soft guitar tone permeates the record and his steady-tempered jazzy lines never go past 4 on the adrenaline knob, even when the rhythm section tries to coax him to do so on the rhythmically rambunctious “Swept Out To Sea.” But records deserve to be judged on their own terms, and as a mellow guitar trio jazz record, Bright Light In Winter remains a very interesting and cunning such record.
Supported by Chris Lopes on acoustic bass and flute, and Chad Taylor on drums, you quickly get the sense that this is a very democratic trio, and all three contribute nearly equal amount of compositions. Moreover, Lopes and Taylor are often nudging their way up to the front of the stage—it’s hard not to notice the knarly bass-drums activity going on within “Freakadelic,” for instance—and on “The Morning Of The 5th,” Parker stays in a sideman role for the entire song to make way for Lopes’ flute, and again on “Istvan” to showcase Lopes’ bass solo acumen. Taylor plays a key role, too, whether it’s West African rhythms on “Mainz,” the odd rhythmic pattern he builds on top of Lopes’ 4/4 bass line within “Occidental Tourist” and the assertive bossa nova beat the underpins “Bright Light Black Site.” On songs like “Istvan” and the effects-laden “Change,” (Youtube above) Parker clearly places as much value in ambient textures and mood as he does improvising.
So upon further investigation, Jeff Parker is precisely the original, complex leader I would expect him to be based on his various other roles, after all. It just takes a little nuanced listening to catch on to the nuanced music. It’s well worth the effort.
Bright Light In Winter went on sale last February 21, courtesy of Delmark Records. Visit Jeff Parker’s website.
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