By Jason Landry

Jeff Parker delivers an abstract rendition on solo guitar in his most recent release Forfolks (International Anthem Recording Co.). Take your favorite jazz guitar player, perhaps it’s Django Reinhardt, Grant Green, or Kenny Burrell and then envision what their music would sound like if they were composing it right now. It might just sound like Parker.

Overlapping loops, reverb, delay, and droned out notes play a key role on many of the tracks on this album. The jazz influence is there, especially in the Thelonious Monk piece Ugly Beauty, but mainly takes a backseat to the abstract, experimental and ambient original compositions written by Parker that pull more toward intricately crafted improvisations than anything else.

When not composing solo work, catch him playing in the post-rock band Tortoise or on tour with drummer Makaya McCraven.