Little Big, a title inspired by a fantasy novel by John Crowley, is a two-part project of the quartet led by Aaron Parks. After a first album released in 2018 on the Ropeadope label, here is the second. Much more tightly tied together than what Aaron Parks and his band played at Salle Bourgie a few months ago, Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man is part of the same aesthetic of contemporary New York jazz, mixed with indie rock, psychedelic rock, indie pop, prog and electro influences. Consisting of Parks on piano, keyboards, vibraphone and glockenspiel, Greg Tuohey on guitar, David Ginyard on bass, and Tommy Crane on drums, Little Big proposes a new New York hybridization. Jazzistic forms combining acoustic post-bop, the achievements of the jazz-fusion of the ’70s and the more contemporary elements of the ’80s and ’90s are at the heart of this effort. Originally from Seattle and transplanted to New York City, Parks has established himself as one of the leading composers, performers, improvisers and orchestra leaders in the jazz community. Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man brings together the intrinsic qualities of a contemporary jazz sound evolving at the centre-left of the spectrum: high virtuosity of the participants, cohesion of the ensemble, ability to absorb formal innovations from non-academic musical forms, concern for consonant lines close to the song form, spectacular performances, a certain complexity in the writing. Good jazz, in short…
Latest 360 Content
Album review Classical/classique/Pop 2025
Viviane Audet – Le piano et le torrent
By Marilyn Bouchard
Interview Classical/classique/expérimental / contemporain/Rock
FIMAV | Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the museum of tremors
By Alain Brunet
Album review expérimental / contemporain/Rock/Pop 2025
Deerhoof – Noble and Godlike in Ruin
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview expérimental / contemporain/Experimental / Contemporary/Rock
A Place To Bury Strangers on Building Sonic Weapons and Playing Shows That Feel Like Car Crashes
By Stephan Boissonneault
Album review Classical/classique 2025
Alison Luthmers – Johann Helmich Roman : Assaggi for solo violin
By Frédéric Cardin
Interview expérimental / contemporain/Experimental / Contemporary/Jazz/Soul/R&B/Psychedelia
FIRE! Orchestra at FIMAV: Power Trio Meets Canadian Community of Avant-Garde Players
By Alain Brunet
Album review Electronic/Folk/Americana/Jazz 2025
Everything is Recorded – Temporary
By Michel Labrecque
Album review Hip Hop 2025
Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.
By Stephan Boissonneault
Interview Jazz
Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal explained by Modibo Keita
By Alain Brunet
Album review Classical/classique 2025
Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens
By Réjean Beaucage
Album review musique de film 2025
Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology
By Frédéric Cardin
Album review Classical/classique 2025