With By All Means, Aaron Parks invites listeners into a renewed acoustic landscape, building on the refined chemistry of his long-time trio—Ben Street on bass and Billy Hart on drums—by adding saxophonist Ben Solomon for a textured, conversational quartet sound. Released by Blue Note Records, the album marks Parks’ third for the label and demonstrates his ongoing devotion to both innovation and the core values of Black American Music. Following the genre-bending approach of 2024’s Little Big III, Parks returns here to the elemental pleasures of swinging rhythm sections, melodic lyricism, and spontaneous interplay—a space where tradition is not preserved but enlivened and continuously reimagined.
Written largely as dedications to close family and key influences, the album’s seven pieces balance intricately woven tunes and soulful improvisation. Tracks like “Parks Lope” set the tone with playful sophistication and articulate phrasing, while others offer moments of warmth and personal reflection, underscoring Parks’ skill in crafting music that resonates on both individual and communal levels. Co-produced with Ben Street, much of the material emerged from a high-energy run at the Village Vanguard; Parks seized the opportunity to transform the trio’s dynamic, highlighting Billy Hart’s legacy of playing with horn players and deepening the group’s conversational rapport.
Parks is unambiguous about the project’s roots: to celebrate the ongoing life of jazz and to honor the lineage in which he’s immersed. “This is a record that loves the jazz tradition… not about nostalgia or preservation,” Parks explains, “but being alive within that lineage, that continuum.” The result is a set that avoids flashy gestures in favor of the quiet joys of interaction, ensemble playing, and mutual improvisation over durable song forms. As a heartfelt thank-you to influences, bandmates, and the music itself, By All Means stands as both love letter and statement of purpose—affirming the vital, unbroken thread of the jazz tradition in a contemporary frame.
