Happy Today is the ETA IVtet’s first recording made outside of the now-shuttered, widely-beloved Highland Park, Los Angeles micro-club ETA. Part laboratory, part low-stakes proving ground, ETA was where the band’s collective sound coalesced over the course of a storied seven-year Monday night residency that yielded two critically-acclaimed records — 2022’s Mondays at The Enfield Tennis Academy and 2024’s The Way Out of Easy — the latter of which debuted #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts, and was called “a testament to the power of live jazz” by The Guardian.

With Happy Today, the ETA IVtet’s sound — honed in such an intimate setting — is scaled up for a much larger audience and space at Lodge Room. But the essential formula of the music remains the same, and has the same hypnotic, deeply-tuned listening effect. The almost alchemical musical communication between Parker, Bellerose, Butterss, and Johnson creates a feeling of connection not only between the band but also between the band and their audience – an ongoing trust exercise that invites listeners to become part of the exchange, and experience the joy of deep listening.