THE BAD PLUS - Active Infinity
Edition: EDN1143
Reid Anderson: bass: Orrin Evans: piano; Dave King: drums
Recorded May 2019 by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording, NYC
The Bad Plus bring us a new set with Orrin Evans firmly established in the pianist's chair and with their 18 year history sitting lightly on their shoulders. At a time when there a so many piano trios around (there seems to something in the development of jazz that sees periods of time with few piano trios and others awash with them), a group needs to be special not only to stand out but to achieve longevity. For a piano trio to effectively have two careers is almost unprecedented and yet the Bad Plus continue to hit the heights and to prove that they are ahead of their contemporaries and hip enough to take on the new comers.
If I was to try to distill an essence of their music then it is has always been a mix of accessible tune-making with challenging rhythms. The opening track, ‘Avail’, encapsulates this perfectly. Evans repeats a harmonic chord progression that wouldn’t be out of place in the pop charts, while King rattles his kit into submission, and then, about 2 minutes in, the piano bursts into a solo of staggering ingenuity – keeping the chords pumping with the left hand and producing runs of post-bop complexity with the right – before settling back into the chords. Indeed, the opener was such a tour de force that I put it on repeat half a dozen times before venturing to the rest of the set. I’m pleased to say that while the opener set the bar, the other tracks deliver with equal vivacity and charm.
The press release says that, ‘In this band, the three voices act as one, sharing a common purpose and message…the music…individually written but collectively produced.’ Not only that, but each track provides opportunities for the individual players to develop lines that, even in the trio, have the feel of solos – so, King’s drumming on the opening track, Anderson’s bass line on the second track, and Evans more or less when he feels like it. There is such palpable joy in the way that the trio combine and share their vision of music and way that the tunes they play are so inspiring and uplifting, that one can only hope that they continue to play for a further 18 years or more.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Edition: EDN1143
Reid Anderson: bass: Orrin Evans: piano; Dave King: drums
Recorded May 2019 by Andy Taub at Brooklyn Recording, NYC
The Bad Plus bring us a new set with Orrin Evans firmly established in the pianist's chair and with their 18 year history sitting lightly on their shoulders. At a time when there a so many piano trios around (there seems to something in the development of jazz that sees periods of time with few piano trios and others awash with them), a group needs to be special not only to stand out but to achieve longevity. For a piano trio to effectively have two careers is almost unprecedented and yet the Bad Plus continue to hit the heights and to prove that they are ahead of their contemporaries and hip enough to take on the new comers.
If I was to try to distill an essence of their music then it is has always been a mix of accessible tune-making with challenging rhythms. The opening track, ‘Avail’, encapsulates this perfectly. Evans repeats a harmonic chord progression that wouldn’t be out of place in the pop charts, while King rattles his kit into submission, and then, about 2 minutes in, the piano bursts into a solo of staggering ingenuity – keeping the chords pumping with the left hand and producing runs of post-bop complexity with the right – before settling back into the chords. Indeed, the opener was such a tour de force that I put it on repeat half a dozen times before venturing to the rest of the set. I’m pleased to say that while the opener set the bar, the other tracks deliver with equal vivacity and charm.
The press release says that, ‘In this band, the three voices act as one, sharing a common purpose and message…the music…individually written but collectively produced.’ Not only that, but each track provides opportunities for the individual players to develop lines that, even in the trio, have the feel of solos – so, King’s drumming on the opening track, Anderson’s bass line on the second track, and Evans more or less when he feels like it. There is such palpable joy in the way that the trio combine and share their vision of music and way that the tunes they play are so inspiring and uplifting, that one can only hope that they continue to play for a further 18 years or more.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
