ArtsEtc.
New album not ‘Bad’ at all
Group successfully infuses jazz with old hits, wins new fans
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Also by Andy Groher:
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- Play 'Proof' of great acting in Madison (February 15, 2009)
- Umphrey's, ultimate rock show (February 9, 2009)
- New album not 'Bad' at all (February 8, 2009)
- Disco Biscuits to visit the Majestic (January 18, 2009)
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No longer does jazz stick to its own. With a wide array of musical knowledge, jazz trio The Bad Plus has a sound that mirrors the music of John Coltrane and the electric fingers of Herbie Hancock. Using these musical abilities, the band usually converts popular rock and pop songs into a form of relaxing jazz music — and that is precisely what they did in their newest album, For All I Care.
Meeting as childhood friends in the Midwest, Reid Anderson (acoustic bass), Ethan Iverson (piano) and David King (drums) reunited in 2000 after nearly a decade of pursuing individual careers to perform together in a small club in Minneapolis. That one-night jazz session was enough to convince the trio to make music together.
In the band’s eighth album, For All I Care, the trio collaborated with vocalist Wendy Lewis to make an album filled with jazzy cover songs ranging from Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” to The Flaming Lips’ “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate.” Up until now in the band’s history, they have been notorious for being an unvocal trio, but in an interview Anderson had with Exclaim! Magazine, the band discussed its decision to add a singer to further the sound of The Bad Plus.
“Because of this history we have with contemporary popular music, it seemed like a singer was the clearest choice, but also in a way the most challenging,” Anderson said. “We really love songs, and there’s something about playing with a singer, delivering songs in that way that has its own power.”
As the quartet works with one another throughout the album, they feed off each other’s emotion, successfully creating a sound of offbeat jazz from popular music.
The album begins with the cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium.” With the slow and soft lyrics of Lewis, the band creates hazy, distorted and unusual sounds capturing the essence of the Nirvana song. King’s offbeat drums next to Iverson’s sporadic piano chords shape the song into a wild sensation of musical melodies, which Anderson holds tightly together with his bass line.
Later in the album, the band covers Heart’s 1977 hit “Barracuda.” The upbeat transition to the song is a nice break from the relaxed covers dominating the album. The song quickly begins with high energy from the bass and drums, followed by Iverson’s ambiguous runs up and down the piano. Throughout the song, the band recreates the traditional notes of “Barracuda” while still incorporating their unique style to give it a jazzy makeover.
However, not every cover on the album may be an easily recognized artist. “Semi-Simple Variations” — originally a slow 1956 jazz piano single from Milton Babbitt — is revamped, transforming it into a more upbeat song filled with constant energy from King as he drives the band forward.
Overall, For All I Care successfully fulfills the goal of The Bad Plus: to convert popular songs into jazz covers. While you can’t expect this album to satisfy a crowd of partygoers at a local house party, if you are looking for relaxing jazz music to accompany your cup of coffee, look no further.
3 1/2 stars out of 5.
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The Bad Plus ate playing in Madison at the Majestic Theatre off Capitol Square. Tickets are on sale now at www.majesticmadison.com.
Anyone who uses the adjective “jazzy” should be permanently barred from writing about music.