Tere is drama to be found, of course, in music well beyond the jazz realm, and Parks, like many of his peers, has
nourished an eclectic taste. “I listen to tons of rock,” he says, “and I’m influenced by the artists lots of jazz players listen to, like Radiohead and Björk, but also Talk Talk, Blonde
Redhead, Me’shell Ndegeocello and straight-up indie-pop like Death Cab for Cutie, unashamedly.”
Aſter mentioning the full-blast guitar solo on “Harvesting Dance” as a key rock-like moment on the album, Parks notes
how Bulgarian music and the work of John Zorn’s Masada also influenced the piece, which was previously recorded on Terence Blanchard’s Flow. One can contrast this with the plaintive solo piano tracks “Into the Labyrinth” and “Aſterglow,” which Parks calls “scene changes,” or the jaunty, bluesy vibe of “Roadside
Distraction,” described by the pianist as an anomaly. “Tat song is really a part of the ‘invisible cinema’ right there,” he laughs.
“It really animates a specific scene.”
For Parks to make such a strong showing at the tender age of 24 isn’t surprising. At age 14 he enrolled in an early
entrance college program; by 15 he was attending University of Washington with a triple-major in math, computer science and music. “Early on I never thought I could have a
career in music,” he recalls. “But then I started to have those experiences where you’re playing and you completely lose
yourself, and the music plays you. I got so addicted to that feeling. I think everyone who plays improvisational music
tries to reach that state. Hopefully, if you do it more and more, you find the trick to make it more consistent.” With his technically involved yet boundlessly melodic and sensitive playing, and with the sense of color and imagination he conveys in every musical situation, Parks is setting a new standard
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