Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today (2026 International Anthem Vinyl LP)

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today | Vinyl LP - 2026 International Anthem (IARC0109, K7 Music GmbH)

Jeff Parker has played guitar in Tortoise since the mid-1990s and has maintained a parallel solo career that sits closer to improvised jazz than anything in Tortoise's catalogue. The ETA IVtet grew out of a residency at a small club in Highland Park, Los Angeles called ETA. Parker, Josh Johnson, Anna Butterss and Jay Bellerose played there regularly enough that the band developed its own language: slow accumulation, long-form development, four musicians listening to each other closely enough that when one shifts, the rest follow within seconds.

The club has since closed. This album was recorded at Lodge Room, also in Highland Park, on August 20, 2025, and it is the first ETA IVtet record made outside the venue that named them. Parker spoke about the context: "2025 was a very difficult year for me and my family." The album captures what he described as "a distinctly joyful night of togetherness set against the backdrop of dark times."

"Like Swimwear" opens with Parker plucking a quiet figure before sustaining notes into a droning chord. Butterss and Bellerose add rhythmic detail gradually. Johnson enters on alto. The piece moves from near-silence through several phases without announcing any of them, the changes only apparent in retrospect. "Happy Today" on Side B follows a similar trajectory but arrives at a different emotional register, warmer and more expansive.

The recording was made direct to a Nagra stereo tape recorder. No overdubs, no editing. Bryce Gonzales recorded and mixed. Dave Cooley mastered at Elysian Masters. This is the international edition (IARC0109), manufactured by K7 Music GmbH.