The Bad Plus | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz,avant-garde jazz |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | HUI, Universal, Do the Math, Mack Avenue Records |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | www |
The Bad Plus is an Americanjazz group fromMinneapolis,Minnesota, United States, formed in 2000. They were originally apiano trio, but became a quartet in 2021: founding membersReid Anderson on bass andDavid King on drums, as well as guitaristBen Monder and tenor saxophonistChris Speed.
Ethan Iverson,Reid Anderson andDavid King first played together in 1989 but established The Bad Plus in 2000. The band recorded their first album, a self-titled effort released onFresh Sound, after playing only three gigs together.
A live performance at theVillage Vanguard was heard byColumbia Records 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 byGive in 2004 andSuspicious Activity? in 2005.
After parting ways with Columbia, the group signed to Heads Up Records (a division ofTelarc), and released the albumProg 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 albumNever Stop was released in September 2010.
The trio served as artists in residence atDuke University in 2010 and 2011. On March 24, 2011, they premiered their version ofIgor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" at Duke's Reynolds Theater.[1][2]
In 2014 a concert at theVillage Vanguard in New York was recorded on video and published on YouTube.[3]
On April 10, 2017, the band released a statement that Ethan Iverson would part ways with the band at the end of 2017, withOrrin Evans replacing him on piano starting January 1, 2018.[4]
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."[5][6]
In August 2021, the band revealed a new lineup featuring guitaristBen Monder and tenor saxophonistChris Speed.[7] They released a new album, entitled simplyThe Bad Plus, on September 30, 2022.[8]
The trio's music combines elements of modernavant-garde jazz withrock andpop influences. The band have recorded versions of songs byNirvana,Aphex Twin,Blondie, Peter Gabriel,Pink Floyd,Ornette Coleman,Pixies,Rush,Tears for Fears,Neil Young,David Bowie,Yes,Interpol,The Flaming Lips,[9]Johnny Cash,The Bee Gees,Burt Bacharach,Cyndi Lauper andBlack Sabbath.Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo includes acover ofQueen'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", while a version of "Karma Police" byRadiohead appeared on the 2006 albumExit 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.[10]
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