The Bad Plus

“How the band moves from carefree jaunt to floating extroversion is jazz magic.”—DownBeat

“A strikingly different sound . . . but retains [the band’s] musical personality.”—AllMusic.com

A little bit of addition has radically reconfigured The Bad Plus. Emerging from the New York jazz scene at the turn of the century with a repertoire encompassing original compositions and elaborately arranged rock and pop anthems, the collective trio became one of jazz’s most popular, influential and long-running bands. Founded by drummer Dave King and bassist Reid Anderson, who grew up together in Minneapolis, and Wisconsin-reared pianist Ethan Iverson, the group underwent a major change when the highly respected Philadelphia pianist Orrin Evans took over from Iverson in late 2017. But with the pandemic hiatus, Evans subtracted himself from the equation to focus on his own projects. Instead of maintaining the trio format King and Anderson recruited tenor saxophonist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder, brilliant, prolific and well-traveled players who should be far better known. “One thing we wanted to do was get away from piano,” Anderson says. “But more importantly, both of those guys are really interesting musicians with very personal approaches.” Like Speed, Monder is best known as a collaborator who brings a jolt of creative energy into any musical situation. While still strongly associated with dramatic interpretations of songs such as Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” and Radiohead’s “Karma Police,” The Bad Plus primarily serves as a vehicle for Reid’s and King’s writing. Rock and pop covers don’t figure much in the band’s book anymore. What hasn’t changed is the tidal force of Anderson’s and King’s whisper-to-a-scream dynamics.