Aaron Parks: Little Big III

Listening to the ever-evolving mind and music of pianist Aaron Parks reveals a sizable rock and roll streak running through it all. His impulsive 2008 solo nod on Blue Note Records, Invisible Cinema, carried indy rock energy. And it is a good bet that if one digs into his work with Terrence Blanchard—four albums from 2003 including 2007's Grammy-winning  A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (EMI)—Parks, a late-stage teenager at the time, exhibits a bardic, punky tinge to his playing.

Back in the day of many a rock and roll kid, a slow boiling cruncher like "Locked Down"—the second great tune on Little Big III—could be jammed on all day! "To heck with school or meeting Donna at the mall. Let's jam!" Then you get to "Sports"—the fourth great tune of nine total on Little Big III—and the groove is so apparent, so snakey like Little Feat, so in-your-face punchy like The Police, that it is virtually impossible not to seek out the repeat button and deploy it.

It is like that throughout the captivating whole of Little Big's third outing. The grooves are all concise, ginsu sharp, and solid. The sizzling opener "Flyaways" quickly sets the standard: Picture a four-piece rock combo getting to their biggest gig ever and "Flyaways" becomes this expansive, open-air run down the West Side Highway. Or maybe a romp down the 405 into L.A. Either or, Parks and guitarist Greg Tuohey are absolutely buoyant and jubilant sailing above the swift rolling bass of David Ginyard and the steady pushing hand of drummer Jongkuk Kim. It is a track that kicks the curiosity into gear and sets the bar high simultaneously.

Tuohey—his expressiveness, touch and sensibility akin to Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, and Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler—owns Parks' delicate "Heart Stories," while, on another plane of existence, the guitarist's own "Wilamina" could very well be a Dire Straits' tune from any of that band's magnificent recordings.

Just before the recording of Little Big III, Parks made the actively creative decision to give the band more say in the direction of their collective journey (the pianist also admits it was a necessary way to stave off the stress of being the main composer) and Ginyard's "Little Beginnings" says that the pianist made the right choice. With its odd metrics and Parks' loopy, dreamy electronics, the track breaks from yet somehow sounds one with the overall flow. Touhey cuts like Pink Floyd's David Gilmour as Kim stays on top of the wiry beat. The guitarist. implores Gilmour's atmospheric moodiness to great effect once again on "The Machines Say No."

If one had to pinpoint a defining track to piece Little Big III all together, the skiddy yet steadfast "Delusions" could very well be it. All that the quartet has in its arsenal at this moment is on full display: Kim and Parks' keep the track moving as Ginyard and Touhey commence a vivid conversation. It is airy and it is tight. It is just one of the album's nine triumphs and sets the stage for what will hopefully be a growing and ongoing alliance of virtuosity, smarts, and will.