User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
- Summary: The first release from Jeff Parker ETA IVtet not recorded the now closed micro-club ETA features two 20+ minutes tracks recorded live at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles.
Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Record Label: Nonesuch
- Genre(s): Jazz
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 10 out of 10
-
Mixed: 0 out of 10
-
Negative: 0 out of 10
-
May 26, 2026Happy Today is a recording of complete attention; forty minutes of musicians who know how and when to make space for each other. In turn, the music they make demands the attention of their listeners. Most impressively, it is live improvisation that only deepens with repeated listens.
-
UncutMay 15, 2026When bassist Anna Butterss breaks free for a lubricious solo around the 14-minute mark of "Life Swimwear", it's to usher in an exquisite passage of dubbed-out psychedelia threaded through with Josh Johnson's tender saxophone. [Jun 2026, p.34]
-
May 15, 2026An air of restraint prevails on “Happy Today,” as every musician is in perfect equilibrium contributing to this expertly sculpted mosaic of muted bliss and cool-browed funk.
-
May 15, 2026The audience becomes an audibly thrilled fifth member of the band whenever Butterss and Bellerose land on a more steadily rooted groove, which renders the initially hushed, seemingly telepathic exchanges between the musicians into a collective effort to work up a muscular and hypnotic musical sweat.
-
May 15, 2026Relative to the two previous releases, Happy Today is much shorter and far more accessible as the band combines their patented immersive ethereal space jazz with tangible, expressive playing. The music has groove and suspense, delivering an uplifting feeling, with some credit due to the passionate audience.
-
The WireMay 15, 2026Again and again, these pieces fade out, just shadows and threads, before reappearing to lock into something slinky, straight out the fridge, Dad. [Jun 2026, p.60]
-
May 15, 2026It's brimming with invention and exploration offered with generosity and creative openness.