The Bad Plus is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

group from

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States, formed in 2000. They were originally a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

, but became a quartet in 2021: founding members Reid Anderson on bass and David King on drums, as well as guitarist Ben Monder and tenor saxophonist Chris Speed.

History

Original lineup

Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and David King first played together in 1989 but established The Bad Plus in 2000. The band recorded their first album, a self-titled effort released on Fresh Sound, after playing only three gigs together. A live performance at the Village Vanguard was heard by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

representative Yves Beauvais, and the band was signed to Columbia in 2002. Their major label debut album, '' These Are the Vistas'', was released in 2003. This was followed by '' Give'' in 2004 and '' Suspicious Activity?'' in 2005. After parting ways with Columbia, the group signed to Heads Up Records (a division of

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

), and released the album '' Prog'' in 2007. In early Spring of 2008 they finished recording their next studio album, '' For All I Care'', which features vocalist Wendy Lewis. It was released in autumn 2008 in Europe and in spring 2009 in the US. Their album '' Never Stop'' was released in September 2010. The trio served as artists in residence at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 2010 and 2011. On March 24, 2011, they premiered their version of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

's "

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

" at Duke's Reynolds Theater. In 2014 a concert at the Village Vanguard in New York was recorded on video and published on YouTube. On April 10, 2017, the band released a statement that Ethan Iverson would part ways with the band at the end of 2017, with

Orrin Evans Orrin Evans (born 28 March 1975) is an American jazz pianist. Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia.Lutz, Phillip. "Orrin Evans The Instigator." ''Downbeat'' 81.11 (2014): 42-45. Print. He attended ...

replacing him on piano starting January 1, 2018. On March 13, 2021, the band posted news on social media that Orrin Evans would be leaving the band to "pursue the music under his own name and will be closing his chapter with The Bad Plus." They noted that the band would no longer be a "piano trio (for now, at least)" and that "they are looking forward to expanding the ensemble as they work on creating music for their next record." In August 2021, the band revealed a new lineup featuring guitarist Ben Monder and tenor saxophonist Chris Speed. They released a new album, entitled simply ''The Bad Plus'', on September 30, 2022.

Artistry

The trio's music combines elements of modern avant-garde jazz with rock and pop influences. The band have recorded versions of songs by

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...

, Blondie, Peter Gabriel,

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

, Ornette Coleman, Pixies, Rush, Tears for Fears,

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, Yes,

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The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

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, Burt Bacharach,

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and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

. ''Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo'' includes a cover of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's " We Are the Champions" along with the jazz standard " My Funny Valentine". ''Suspicious Activity?'' contains a cover of the theme from "

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...

", while a version of " Karma Police" by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

appeared on the 2006 album '' Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads''. The band has said that they changed their sound a little bit for their sixth album, ''For All I Care''.

Discography

Albums with Ethan Iverson

*'' The Bad Plus'' (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2001) *''Authorized Bootleg: New York 12/16/01'' (Self-Released, 2002) *'' These Are the Vistas'' (Columbia, 2003) *'' Give'' (Columbia, 2004) *''Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo'' (Sony, 2005) *'' Suspicious Activity?'' (Columbia, 2005) *'' Prog'' (EmArcy, 2007) *'' For All I Care'' (EmArcy, 2008 Europe, 2009 North America) *'' Never Stop'' (EmArcy, 2010) *'' Made Possible'' (EmArcy, 2012) *''

'' (Masterworks, 2014) *'' Inevitable Western'' (Okeh, 2014) *'' The Bad Plus Joshua Redman'' (Nonesuch, 2015) *'' It's Hard'' (Okeh, 2016)

Albums with
Orrin Evans Orrin Evans (born 28 March 1975) is an American jazz pianist. Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia.Lutz, Phillip. "Orrin Evans The Instigator." ''Downbeat'' 81.11 (2014): 42-45. Print. He attended ...

*'' Never Stop II'' (Legbreaker, 2018) *'' Activate Infinity'' ( Edition, 2019)

Albums with Chris Speed and Ben Monder

*''The Bad Plus'' (Edition, 2022) *''Complex Emotions'' (Edition, 2024)

Compilation appearances

* '' Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads'' (2006, Rapster/ Barely Breaking Even) – " Karma Police" * ''Everybody Wants to Be a Cat: Disney Jazz Volume 1'' (2011) – " Gaston" * ''Everybody Wants to Be a Cat: Disney Jazz Volume 2'' (2021) – "

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

References

External links

Official site

Article at ''All About Jazz''

The Bad Plus on NPR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Plus, The Musical groups from Minneapolis Jazz ensembles from Minnesota Musical groups established in 2000 Edition Records artists Okeh Records artists