Richard X Bennett & Matt Parker - Parker Plays X (2023) [Hi-Res]

"It's a unique experience to take on someone else's sensibility so intensely. I tried internalizing Richard's melodies and took it from there." — Matt Parker

"Fun, quick and catchy melodies" Jazz Weekly

"rambunctious, rude and downright catchy all at once... the music reflects the compression of wild, youthful energy within a small New York apartment.

... they find the sweet spot between jazz and R&B instrumentals. Most acts who aim for that fusion settle for a dumbed-down version of each ingredient, but Bennett and Parker avoid that by aiming for an ambitious form of each. They create ear-grabbing themes but never settle for simple repetition. Instead their variations keep evolving and generating new surprises." Paste Magazine

"While Bennett and Parker push the boundaries and are often unpredictable, there are enough motifs underlying the music to make it accessible. The passion and the pace of the album are wonderful. Although at times it threatens to careen out of control, it never gets there, remaining on the edge, which proves to be their comfort zone." makingascene.org

"a dynamic production of music that seems to know no creative bounds." theJazzPage.com

"Once again Richard X Bennett has written material which challenges and provokes, but isn't without wit and humour. He's a story-teller." Elsewhere.com New Zealand