The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus are a jazz group from Minneapolis, United States. Their core line-up begins with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King, both originally from Minnesota, alongside pianist Ethan Iverson in the original trio. The group starts in 2000, although Anderson, King and Iverson first play together in 1989 before forming an established act much later.

Line-up and membership

The Bad Plus begin as a quartet in the account given here, but their membership changes over time. Founding pianist Ethan Iverson leaves at the beginning of 2018 and is replaced by Orrin Evans, who leaves in 2021. The members listed for the group also include guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed. Verified group membership also includes Reid Anderson, Dave King, Orrin Evans, Ben Monder and Chris Speed.

Recording history

The band records its first album, The Bad Plus, for Fresh Sound after only three gigs together. In 2002, after a performance at the Village Vanguard is heard by Columbia Records representative Yves Beauvais, the group signs to Columbia. Their major-label debut, These Are the Vistas, follows in 2003, then Give in 2004 and Suspicious Activity? in 2005. A live album, Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo, also appears in 2005. The band records Prog in September 2006, and it is released in 2007.

Style and repertoire

The Bad Plus work in jazz and post-bop, with music that combines traditional and free jazz elements with rock and pop influences. Their releases include several notable covers: These Are the Vistas includes versions of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” and Aphex Twin’s “Flim”; Give includes covers of the Pixies and Black Sabbath; Suspicious Activity? includes a version of the theme from Chariots of Fire; and Prog includes Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”.

Related projects

Dave King is also part of the Minnesota-based groups Halloween, Alaska, Happy Apple and Love-Cars.

Labels

The group is associated with Fresh Sound, Columbia, Do the Math Records and The Bad Plus, LLC.