The Bad Plus: Complex Emotions

For those out there who may have inadvertently thought The Bad Plus had nothing major left to say after two-plus decades of saying major things, guess again. Because Complex Emotions—their sixteenth statement of purpose—doubles down and ups a hundred.

Proof positive is how guitarist Ben Monder's valedictory "LiPo"—equal parts biblical wind and prairie sandstorm—sleigh rides Category 5 nonstop from Complex Emotions's changeling opener, founder/bassist Reid Anderson's "Grid/Ocean." Seemingly with a mind of its own, the track thrashes then snaps back and smooths out, clearing the way for the robust and rocketing "French Horns." Written by Anderson, "French Horns," boasts one of Monder's most highly structured, yet no less frantic type solos and, in a wondrous audio nutshell illustrates the core credo of The Bad Plus: whatever the happenstance, the band must define, explain, and then re- define themselves. Saxophonist Chris Speed's rock-solid "Cupcakes One" is one explanation. Or definition. You never really know with these guys and that is their grand strategy.

Speed (Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tim Berne), like Monder (David Bowie Maria Schneider), may be relatively new to The Bad Plus modus operandi (the two came into the changing fold in 2021), but they caught on real quick with 2022's The Bad Plus (Edition) and now, with apparently great ease, set out to make greatness a tradition. Take the bassist's blistering "Deep Water Sharks" for example. Here is a heightened, roof-down mad dash along that thin line between rock and roll and jazz that takes no prisoners. As Monder and Speed cut with an electric, tandem dynamism that will have the more rock-oriented among us shouting "Jeff Beck" or "Jimmy Page," co-founder/drummer Dave King—at his battering ram best—wills the track into being. That "Deep Water Sharks" leads into the aforementioned and amorphous "Lipo" is an absolute bonus. The quieter respites, Anderson's "Carrier," King's "Casa Ben" and "Tyrone's Flamingos" hold their own majesty. A moody, Joni Mitchell type cha-cha, "Casa Ben" finds King and Anderson reveling as Monder and Speed go about their day. With its stutter step "Carrier" becomes a dreamy space. Stately and elegant "Tyrone's Flamingos" showcases Speed's airy lyricism. Complex Emotions certainly comes at you from every angle. But it is a stunning whole.