The Way Out of Easy, the first album from guitarist Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet—saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose—since their 2022 debut Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, which Pitchfork named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, is out now on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Like that album, The Way Out of Easy comprises recordings from LA venue ETA, where Parker and the ensemble held a weekly residency for seven years. During that time, the ETA IVtet evolved from a band that played mostly standards into a group known for its transcendent, long-form journeys into innovative, groove-oriented improvised music. All four tracks on The Way Out of Easy come from a single night in 2023, providing an unfiltered view of the ensemble, fully in their element. 

The Staves' new EP Happy New Year, out today, includes three acoustic versions of tracks from their new album, All Now—"I Don't Say It, But I Feel It," "After School," and "All Now"—and a cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home." Also out now: an acoustic performance video for "After School," which the duo calls "a love song to our sister Emily inspired by the bands we were listening to in the '90s. Putting on the rose-tinted glasses and embracing nostalgia."