(Reprinted from the November 2024 issue of Downbeat magazine. Photo: Courtesy of Aaron Parks)
In 2008, pianist Aaron Parks—then a recent Monk competition winner—released his first record for Blue Note, Invisible Cinema. This year he returns to the label with Little Big III, his second Blue Note album since that auspicious debut (this time with Blue Note president Don Was as co-producer) and his third studio album with Little Big, his spectacular four-person band.
Little Big—featuring guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist David Ginyard Jr., and drummer Jongkuk Kim—serves as a winning ensemble for Parks, given the aesthetic demands of his writing. Parks typically starts with a thematic notion—melodic, percussive—and develops this idea through variation and instrumental layering, ever escalating the tension that drives each piece.
Parks wrote five of the album’s nine tracks according to this seeming plan. On “Flyways,” a strong pedal tethers the bracing melodic movement; an opening left-hand figure in “Locked Down” guides the tune from the perilous to the lyrical; and the pianistic undergirding of “Delusions” lays the foundation for extrapolation in the guitar. The temperament of these three stands in contrast to that of Parks’ more balladic pieces: “Heart Stories,” a beautifully reflective study, and “Ashé,” which boasts the album’s sweetest theme.
Other group members distinguish themselves as writers, too. Tuohey contributed three originals: “Sports,” bursting with unfettered exuberance; “The Machines Say No,” where his lilting guitar juxtaposes a textured drum line; and “Willamina,” notable for its heart-warming melody, ornamented with blues licks. Bassist Ginyard contributes one tune as well—the polyrhythmic “Little Beginnings,” which shifts seamlessly from mood to mood. Kim doesn’t contribute any originals to the track list, but his compositional approach to percussive improvisation is integral to the shaping of his bandmates’ works.—Suzanne Lorge
Little Big III: Flyways; Locked Down; Heart Stories; Sports; Little Beginnings; The Machines Say No; Willamina; Delusions; Ashé. (51:33)
Personnel: Aaron Parks, piano; Greg Tuohey, guitar; David Ginyard Jr., bass; Jongkuk Kim drums.