The Tortoise member sends fine improvisations from a hypnosis room.
Over the course of eight years, Jeff Parker, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson performed every Monday at the ETA Club in Los Angeles, as they could arrange. Two of the guitarist and Tortoise member’s earlier albums were also created there. Just a few hundred meters from the place that gave his IVtet its name, Parker recorded this album with his favorite band, surrounded by 400 applauding spectators.
Two extensive, but rather reservedly orchestrated tracks are enough for the band to carry their idea of hypnosis into the room and to the audience, recorded on analog tape, total playing time just under 45 minutes. “Like Swimwear” and “Happy today” is developmental music that treats itself to a solo start (Parker’s guitar) and from then on explores synergies, refinements, melodic patterns and changing sound fields with each new instrument that is added – sometimes the latter are volatile, short-lived inventories.
And because the sound captures the space so well, these improvisations can also really captivate us on record. Close your eyes and we wander across the stage with guitar, bass, drums and saxophone. At the same time as the album, a film will be released by musician and video director Charlie Weinmann, who captured the band’s performance for HAPPY TODAY.
