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The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus is a collective made up of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King. All three are from the Midwest and they have known each other since their teens. After spending their formative 20’s apart (King as a session player in Los Angeles, Iverson as the musical director for the prestigious Mark Morris Dance Group, and Anderson as a prominent up-and-coming player on the New York jazz scene) they reunited in late 2000 to play a weekend club date in Minneapolis. The chemistry was immediate and obvious. They planned a second gig and a one-day recording session for the indie jazz label Fresh Sound and The Bad Plus was born.On this same first gig, the nascent group played their first rock cover, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Thus began The Bad Plus trademark of complementing original repertoire with their takes on mainstream pop "standards" including ABBA, Black Sabbath, the Bee Gees, Queen, Blondie, Aphex Twin, Neil Young, and Bjork.
While the covers helped to spread their reputation, they comprise less than 20% of the band's live repertoire. Anderson, Iverson, and King are all composers in their own right, each boasting a distinctive style. Iverson's music is the more intellectual and complex, Anderson's the more melodic and romantic, and King's the more rhythmic and surreal.
Four years ago, The Bad Plus released ‘These Are The Vistas’, their first recording for the venerable Columbia label. With a sound more akin to a rock and roll assault than to the politeness of a jazz piano trio, with influences ranging from Stravinsky to Ornette Coleman, and a repertoire blending diverse original material and provocative covers of Nirvana and Aphex Twin, The Bad Plus earned a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking groups in music. Championed by mainstream rock press, reviled by jazz purists, hailed by others as music's great hope, ‘These Are The Vistas’ was embraced in the US and abroad. The group became staples at NPR and college radio, and developed a strong presence on the international concert circuit, playing more than 170 shows in 2006 alone. Favouring group improvisation over individual solos, eschewing all jazz cliches, The Bad Plus rip into each set with a combination of Swiss-watch precision, the spectrum of dynamics and reckless abandon.
Upcoming shows...
Auguest 2007
21 Sao Paulo, BR -- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
September 2007
07 Boise, ID -- The Grove Plaza
18 Cleveland Heights, OH -- Nighttown
19 Cleveland Heights, OH -- Nighttown
20 Ann Arbor, MI -- The Ark
21 Madison, WI -- The Annex
22 Indianapolis, IN -- Jazz Kitchen
23 Chicago, IL -- Old Town School Of Folk Music
24 Minneapolis, MN -- Guthrie Theatre
October 2007
05 Berlin, DE -- A Trane
06 Leipzig, DE -- Leipziger Jazztage
07 Berlin, DE -- A Trane
09 Mannheim, DE -- Kulturzentrum Alte Feuerwache
10 Karlsruhe, DE -- Tollhaus
11 Paris, FR -- New Morning
12 Massy, FR -- Centre Culturel Paul Baillart
13 Argenteuil, FR -- Cave Dimiere
14 Eeklo, BE -- N9
16 Copenhagen, DK -- Copenhagen Jazz House
18 Stockholm, SE -- Jazzclub Fasching
19 Goteborg, SE -- Nefertiti Jazzklubb
28 Washington, DC -- Lisner Auditorium (w/ Jason Moran)
November 2007
02 Cambridge, MA -- Regattabar
03 Cambridge, MA -- Regattabar
04 Newmarket, NH -- The Stone Church
14 Vilnius, LT -- Lithuanian National Drama Theatre
15 Genk, BE -- Motives Festival
16 Madrid, ES -- Centro Cultural San Juan Evangelista
17 Sevilla, ES -- Teatro Central
22 Innsbruck, AT -- Treibhaus Club
23 Vienna, AT -- Birdland
24 Kalisz, PL -- International Jazz Piano Festival
25 Katowice, PL -- Hipnoza
www.thebadplus.com/
Written: 25th Jun, 07
Read: 1587 times
