The Bad Plus
Published by Kevin February 26th, 2008 in MP3's.
Considering it was Ben Folds Five’s second release, Whatever and Ever Amen (specifically “One Angry Dwarf”), that caused my musical epiphany as a child, it’s not surprising that I’ve fallen for The Bad Plus. Their similar set up (piano, bass, drums) may be the first indication of their similarities, but what caught my ear is the seamless integration of both jazz and rock; almost punk music. While there may be complicated rhythms and chord changes, there is a familiarity with every song. Though there are no lyrics, the semblance of a chorus still brings listeners back to a definable musical “home.”
Occasionally, The Bad Plus is unfairly pigeonholed as a contemporary jazz cover band due to covers of everyone from Nirvana to Aphex Twin, yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. These covers, usually a few per album, only display their range of influences. Even cooler (as if jazz music needed to be any cooler) is their placement of these borrowed musical phrases. A piece may begin with all original material, then quickly shift into an extremely vamped up version of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” and then, just as quickly, regain the original melody, catching the listener off guard as they wonder what the hell just happened.
The Minnesota based band getting ready to launch a Pacific Rim tour this February and will also hit New York and Athens, Ga for a week each in March and April respectively. So here for your aural pleasure, is the “athlete” trilogy, which spans 3 albums and 8 apparently productive years. Also, for those visual learners (odd that you’re at a music site), I’ve included their cover of Aphex Twin’s Film. Check out how drummer Dave King manages to turn the beeps and ticks of electronica into a recognizable rhythm is a testament to both his own ability and the others in the band, and only the tip of the iceberg of what this band is capable of doing.
The Bad Plus - 1980 World Champion (Courtesy of Feed Me Good Tunes)
The Bad Plus - 1979 Semi-Finalist
The Bad Plus - 1972 Bronze Medalist (Courtesy of IndieMuse)
Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf
The Bad Plus is fucking amazing. When they left their label to do “Prog”, people were way too harsh on them. (I recall a two word review of the album in some magazine that simply read “For plebians”) They’ll be doing a week at the Blue Note in NYC starting March 18th. Great live act.