Jeff Parker ETA IVtet — The bar that became a sound
- h-music8
- Apr 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 15
Some of the best music happens in the most unlikely places. For guitarist Jeff Parker, it was the back corner of a tiny bar in Highland Park, Los Angeles, every Monday night.
Born out of a weekly residency started in 2016 at Northeast LA venue ETA, the IVtet (featuring saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Jay Bellerose) began as a band playing mostly standards before evolving into something far more singular. Over seven years, they became known for transcendent, long-form journeys into groove-oriented, painterly, polyrhythmic, minimalist and mantric improvised music, the kind that stretches out for 45 minutes and pulls you under before you even notice.
The music is darkly glowing, brimming with the hypnotic, the melodic, and a patience and grace all its own. Think free improv with a pulse. Think jazz that breathes like ambient music. There's a language here that the four players built together, organically, night after night, and you can hear it in every note.
Their debut, Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy (Eremite, 2022), was named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far by Pitchfork. The follow-up, The Way Out of Easy (International Anthem, 2024), captured an entire evening from January 2023, which turned out to be among the last nights at ETA before the venue permanently closed. A third album, Happy Today, recorded live at Lodge Room in Los Angeles, is due May 2026, marking the first time the IVtet has documented itself outside the walls of its original home.
The room is gone. The band plays on.
Jeff Parker and his Jeff Parker ETA IVtet is featured in H-Music playlists:
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