There are always those times when we are explaining the sound of our favorite bands to friends and our description generally fails in its attempt to mix seemingly unrelated musical aesthetics into one style. "It's kind of a mix between Ben Harper and Jack Johnson," (virtually the same person) or "Think P. Diddy with a sort of Latin vibe" (I think I've heard that one before). These descriptions tend to provide a false pretense of musicians who would rather be known for their originality as opposed to their (maybe) influences. But what about the band that ironically presents a sonic buffet of music both past and present? All those tunes that we knew we loved but maybe forgot, and all those songs we never wanted to admit that we loved; all in two hours worth of music.
Sitting in the green room of the Stone Church prior to their performance, Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Reid Anderson sat and carefully analyzed a television documentary while drummer David King sat aloof with an uninviting look on his face, his attention buried in his headphones. The situation seemed really awkward to me at first, yet in a way too normal for what I would expect from a contemporary jazz trio. In a deeper sense, this description may best explain the style of the Bad Plus, but for the purpose of details I may resort to the old clichés.
From the first chord of the night to the final cymbal crash, Newmarket witnessed a band that thoughtfully deconstructed every aspect of their performance to create a sort of musical circus reminiscent of an artistic experiment by John Cage. Shifting time signatures and contrasting textures made classic rock masterpieces (Rush's "Tom Sawyer") sound like an arrangement by Igor Stravinsky, while the overly romantic and grandiose rendition of David Bowie's "Life On Mars" highlighted the more lyrical or perhaps more classically trained aspects of the trio's technique.
The group's original compositions best represented the trio's style, while also reflecting those musical idiosyncrasies which draw us all to music in the first place. Titles such as "The World Is The Same" and "Physical Cities"-both compositions by bassist Reid Anderson- presented expressive and seemingly profound melodies in the context of hyper, cut-up breakbeat music, while drummer David King's "Thriftstore Jewelry" gave off a twisted air of hip-hop and urban appeal that we may find in the music of Jay Z or Common. In his insane demeanor and exciting drumming particularly, King (who dressed as if he just broke out of jail and robbed an Old Navy) was able to gracefully move between a rolling swing feel-heard in the style of Elvin Jones-to extremely laid back grooves one may find in a mixtape by J Dilla. This sentiment contrasted sharply with the classical/jazz sensibilities being laid down by formally dressed pianist Ethan Iverson, and the stoic nature of Reid Anderson who did not say one word the entire set.
Perhaps it was not expected that the audience make sense of every awkward moment that the Bad Plus spent on stage, musical or not. Yet their ability to present what seems like the entire spectrum of musical styles from 80's pop to avant-garde jazz and classical in a single performance reminiscent of New Orleans collective improvisation-to a packed house nonetheless-shows us the universal nature of the Bad Plus. Commenting on the aesthetic of American jazz music, comedian Dave Chapelle once linked the great American art to comedy by noting that each requires the performer to be slightly off, yet always remaining focused and driven. At the Stone Church Sunday night, we saw the Bad Plus at its finest: three personalities who are as diverse as music and humanity itself, yet entirely dedicated to the art through which they live.
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