Suite for Max Brown is a studio album by American guitarist, composer, and record producer Jeff Parker. It was released on January 24, 2020, through International Anthem Recording Company and Nonesuch Records. It received universal acclaim from critics.
Background Jeff Parker is an American guitarist, composer, and record producer. Suite for Max Brown is named after and dedicated to his mother, whose maiden name is Maxine Brown. The album's cover features a photograph of her at the age of 19. The album contains nine original tracks, a version of John Coltrane's "After the Rain", and "Gnarciss", which is an interpretation of Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus". The album includes performances by Parker, Paul Bryan, Josh Johnson, Jamire Williams, Katinka Kleijn, Rob Mazurek, Makaya McCraven, Jay Bellerose, and Nate Walcott. Parker's daughter, Ruby Parker, sings on the opening track "Build a Nest".
The album was released on January 24, 2020, through International Anthem Recording Company and Nonesuch Records. A music video was released for "Max Brown".
Critical reception
Nick Roseblade of The Quietus wrote, "There are times when the project could have drifted into a schmaltzy affair, but Parker sticks to his avant-garde roots and delivers his strongest album to date." Steven Arroyo of Pitchfork stated, "While his electric guitar remains a highlight, Parker builds out a fast-slashing range of ideas using dozens of other sounds and instruments, most of which he plays himself."
The album was nominated for Best Jazz Record at the 2021 Libera Awards.
Accolades + Year-end lists for Suite for Max Brown Publication List Rank The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2020 Magnet Magnet's Top 25 Albums of 2020 Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2020 The Quietus Quietus Albums of the Year 2020 The Vinyl Factory Our 50 Favourite Albums of 2020 The Wire Releases of the Year (2020 Rewind)
Track listing
Notes "C'mon Now" features samples from the Otis Redding recording "The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)".
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Jeff Parker – piano (1), electric guitar (1, 3, 4, 6–11), vocals (1, 3, 10), Korg MS-20 (1, 5, 8, 9, 11), drums (1, 8), sampler (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10), bass guitar (3), percussion (3, 4), glockenspiel (5), sequencer (5), Roland JP-08 (6, 11), MIDI strings (6), MIDI programming (7), pandeiro (7), mbira (8), electric piano (8), production, arrangement, engineering, editing Ruby Parker – vocals (1) Paul Bryan – bass guitar (4, 6–8, 10, 11), vocals (10), production, engineering, editing, mixing Josh Johnson – electric piano (4), alto saxophone (6, 11) Jamire Williams – drums (4, 11) Katinka Kleijn – cello (6) Rob Mazurek – piccolo trumpet (6) Makaya McCraven – sampler (6), drums (6, 10) Jay Bellerose – drums (9), percussion (9) Nate Walcott – trumpet (11) Dave Cooley – mastering Craig Hansen – design, layout
Charts + Chart performance for Suite for Max Brown Chart (2020) Peakposition
References
Further reading
External links