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…
