''Made Possible'' is a 2012 studio album by American jazz trio

The Bad Plus The Bad Plus is an American jazz group from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, formed in 2000. They were originally a piano trio, but became a quartet in 2021: founding members Reid Anderson on bass and David King on drums, as well as guit ...

released by

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

. It is the group's eighth studio album. ''Made Possible'' is the first album by The Bad Plus to feature

electronic instruments An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Thom Jurek stated, "Made Possible finds the Bad Plus openly wrestling with the complex interrelationship between rhythm, harmony, and improvisation (individual and collective). It offers a more inviting aural view of the group confronting these questions, and the historic weight and imposing boundaries associated with "the piano trio" in jazz. Rather than try to simply find answers, the Bad Plus engage the listener in the process of asking more questions about music itself." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s John Fordham wrote, "Made Possible is at once vintage Bad Plus in its striking themes, nonchalant time-bends and full-on collective improv, and proof of this awesome ensemble's continuing evolution. All the tracks are originals, apart from the late drummer Paul Motian's poignant Victoria, and there's some limited, but telling, use of electronics." John Garratt of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' added, "Many a pundit will still allow themselves to become wet hens in the presence of a Blad Plus album, and that's just very unfortunate. Taken at face value, Made Possible is as great as anything else they've done...and they've done quite a bit." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

s Daniel Sylvester wrote, "Although Ethan Iverson's piano remains as dazzling as ever and the rhythm section still challenges jazz's stuffy leanings, the Bad Plus can't help but feel gimmicky and out of their element on ''Made Possible''. This is a far cry from their limitless origins." Thomas Conred of ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' noted, "They are still loud and inappropriate. They are still impulsive and obnoxious and irresistible as street urchins. And they have found some fresh ways to be all these things. The tunes are new, original and ambitious, and incorporate occasional synthesizers and electronic drums."

Track listing

Personnel

Band *

Reid Anderson Reid Anderson (born 15 October 1970) is a bassist and composer from Minnesota. He is a member of The Bad Plus with drummer Dave King, pianist Ethan Iverson, saxophonist Chris Speed, and guitarist Ben Monder. The original lineup of The Bad Plus ...

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bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...

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piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* David King –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, electric drums Technical *Chris Hinderaker –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

*Darryl Pitt – executive producer *Pete Rende –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing *Huntley Miller – mastering *Sherman Iverson –

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

s *Greg Meyers –

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums The Bad Plus albums E1 Music albums