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Comprised of upright bassist Reid Anderson, drummer David King, and pianist Ethan Iverson, The Bad Plus’ members had met on a number of occasions before teaming up in 1990. Despite occasional performances together, the band didn’t official form until 2000, following a decade of Anderson, King, and Iverson collecting fruitful musical influences. Upon forming, The Bad Plus performed three live shows together before releasing their self-titled debut album on Fresh Sound in 2001.
The band subsequently played a show at the Village Vanguard, which was spotted by Yves Beauvais of Columbia Records, who singed The Bad Plus in 2002. The following year the band issued their major label debut, “These Are the Vistas”, featuring covers of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”, and earning widespread critical acclaim. In 2004 The Bad Plus issued their fourth full-length “Give”, an experimental mix of rock-driven jazz record in Wiltshire, England. The band headed to the UK again to record their fifth album “Suspicious Activity?”, which features original compositions by all of the group’s members and released in 2005.
The full-length “PROG” followed in 2007, cementing the group as staples of contemporary avant-garde jazz, after which they invited vocalist Wendy Lewis to contribute to their seventh studio album “For All I Care” in 2009. Marking their first album to feature all orignal material, 2010’s “Never Stop” earned rave reviews and was supported by extensive touring. Two years later The Bad Plus issued the full-length “Made Possible” before recording a version of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, and releasing their ninth studio album “Inevitable Western” in March 2014.
Attending a concert performed by The Bad Plus is like being transported to another world where jazz is perfect and troubles drift away. The Bad Plus recently performed at the Mendizorrotza Sports Center, and, as you can tell, I was lucky enough to get tickets and attend this performance with my lovely wife of twenty-five years. It was, indeed, an awesome anniversary present.
Getting to see Ethan Iverson on piano was already enough of a treat, but who really blew me away with their talent and expertise was definitely the double bassist, Reid Anderson. The Bad Plus was accompanied by a very talented saxophonist, whose name was Joshua Redman, I believe, but it was The Bad Plus that really stole the show, with Ethan plunking away on the piano.
As a longtime lover of jazz, this concert was perfect to see, and I also loved that they didn't overwhelm the musicians with unnecessary spectacles or special effects. That isn't to say that the stage wasn't hazy, or that there weren't different colored lights illuminating the incredible jazz performances, but it was great that none of this took away from the amazing performances on stage. My favorite performance was definitely the flawless rendition of "People Like You," one of my absolute favorites.
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