Jazz Articles about The Bad Plus

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Suspicious Activity Indeed: The Bad Plus Live

by Doug Collette
October 15, 2005

Irreverent and eccentric, The Bad Plus are a bundle of nervous energy when they play. Yet as this ever-so-intimate venue in the Green Mountains of Vermont, the trio entranced rather than repel by dint of their humor and imagination, not to mention just enough conventionalism to make their quirks that much more effective.

The early part of the September 30th set was akin to watching an aerial view of race cars, the three musicians--Ethan Iverson on piano, Reid Anderson ...

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The Bad Plus: Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo

by Matt Merewitz
March 30, 2005

A turbulent foray into experimental terrain recorded live at the Blue Note in Tokyo, bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King, who together make up the The Bad Plus, explore a plethora of styles on their third Columbia release Blunt Object: Live In Tokyo. It is most certainly their most inventive, risk-taking session to date; a logical outgrowth of their rock and shock reputation.

Can you believe its been over two years now that the ...

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The Bad Plus: The Bad Plus

by Mark Sabbatini
August 21, 2004

Is there another group that excels this well at not taking themselves seriously?

The Bad Plus are earning raves as either stupendous or just plain stupid for their radical interpretations of pop standards, making their major label debut on 2003's These Are The Vistas and following up with 2004's Give . But as is the case with many artists, there's also a number of small-label releases of interest to fans--and one is relatively easy to obtain without resorting ...

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The Bad Plus and Good For Cows

by Terrell Kent Holmes
July 11, 2004

The Bad Plus Give Sony-Columbia 2004

The Bad Plus, jazz's ground breaking trio, have followed up their acclaimed release These Are the Vistas with Give , a disc that reaffirms the band's intentions to do nothing conventional, and to shift the music's landscape. The format of the disc is similar: predominantly originals mixed with covers, featuring the band's penchant for Mingus-esque titling and already trademark rhythmic construction and arrangements, and double-edged satire.

The opener, ...

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Give The Bad Plus A Break

by Joshua Weiner
April 30, 2004

A pretty little girl, maybe 4 years old or so, dances and twirls to the music, long blond hair flying. Her mother sits nearby, watchful that she doesn't bump into any of the audience members enjoying the show. A dreadlocked man at the adjacent table leans over to the little dancer, points to the hyperkinetic drummer up on the stand, and asks a question that, though inaudible due to the volume of the band, is clear enough: “Is that your ...

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The Bad Plus: Give

by Simon Calle
April 4, 2004

After a year the Bad Plus is back with a second major label release. Give can be seen as a continuation of the group's previous record, These are the Vistas. On the new album the trio continues working with an eclectic mixture of various influences that range from 19th century impressionist and romantic Europeans composers to alternative rock of the '90s passing through various styles of jazz. The first can be heard specially in the playing of pianist Ethan Iverson ...

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The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas

by Joshua Weiner
August 25, 2003

There's an old saying about a dog walking upright on his hind legs: it's not that he does it well, but rather that he does it at all that's interesting. Listening to the arrangement of Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit" by the Bad Plus brought this to mind. While 7 of 10 tracks on their major-label debut, These Are The Vistas, are originals, it's the three pop cover tunes (which also include Blondie's “Heart Of Glass" and the Aphex Twin's ...