The Bad Plus gave something back to me that pursuing a career as a musician had taken away, a favorite band. A band whose name I would have written in sharpie on the back of my denim jacket when I was 14… I graduated high school in 1990 and was a New Wave/Post Punk kid who had only discovered Jazz at around 16. I didn’t really dig in until college at which point I just jettisoned everything that I had previously been into in order to try to catch up. I never paid any attention to TBP until I heard Ethan on a Billy Hart record (One Is The Other) and thought “that’s the piano player in the Bad Plus?!…” Anyway, I share your feelings about Reid as a composer. Thank you.
It breaks my heart to read “I was under the impression that the audience patiently waited out our original music before exploding when we finally played ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ or ‘Flim’”, seeing as I proudly list tB+ as one of my favorite bands, and listen almost exclusively to the originals. If it’s possible to be a superfan of Made Possible and Inevitable Western, then that would be me. Looking at the songwriting credits throughout the tB+ discography I saw the names “Anderson”, “Iverson”, and “King” over and over, and no doubt formed an image of my mind of a trio of three geniuses.
Anyway. Certainly, being raised on an unholy combination of avant-garde rock music, bebop, and Scriabin (oh, the YouTube™ generation…) shaped my response. In any case tB+’s originals are an enduring inspiration for my own compositions, and I just wanted to make sure there was at least one comment in here to this effect.
Nice to see fellow Inevitable Western enjoyer! I admin rock covers were a gateway drug (I think it was Flim I’ve heard first) but after a while original compositions have kinda grown on me.
One song I wish TBP had covered was "Marquee Moon" by Television. I think you could do it solo, Ethan, concentrating on the two guitars more than the bass line.
I’ve loved TBP’s cover of “Velouria” since the day I first heard it, listening to it on headphones in the CD section of Borders! That moment made me a fan of the band for life.
That's so funny because that's how I discovered them, too! Borders, but it was the opening track of "Give". It was a sound like nothing I'd ever heard before.
Ethan, I’m heartbroken a second time(1st time when you split). I took my son to his first concert at the Kimmel Center(Philly). TBP warmed up for MMW. I was a huge fan of both. So, nirvana for me. My son was enthralled with you guyz. I was also. But Dave was exceptional that night. I guess because of the great Billy Martin was there. Any how, I’m very sad to see an end of TBP. All the best to the guys and to you also.
PS- we saw you at the Ethical Society in Philly also with Toody Heath. It was phenomenal! Thanks for the music!
Brilliant breakdown of how deconstructing pop structures can actually reveal more about composition than straight jazz standards ever could. The insight about Reid Anderson's cellular understanding of pop songwriting versus Jarrett's "serviceable" themes really hits home becuase it explains why tribute projects can obscure the real compositional innovation happening in a band. I dunno if anyone else caught this, but the tension between covers as career launcher versus compositional sidelining mirrors what happened to alot of fusion groups in the 70s. Back when I was trying to figure out why certain arrangements worked better than others, realizing that stripping out Evans-style voicings wasnt laziness but an aesthetic choice changed everything for me.
Thank you for this writing. I am a classical musician who only discovered TBP last summer. I have been obsessed since. I am no jazz expert - I didn’t even listen to jazz very much before this infatuation - but the stuff after Ethan left feels to me more like other acts whereas the early records are absolutely distinct - a perfect creative synergy between three musicians who are as virtuosic as they are curious and playful.
I cracked up when Ethan called up his weak rhythmic feel early on. There are some wicked metric modulations on these records. When you guys needed to be tight, you were. Then there is the delightful bitonality and all kinds of harmonic mischief. Ethan’s note about Stravinsky was so illuminating! Same goes for the Wes Anderson comment.
Thank you again. Since your music is fresh to me, I welcomed the opportunity to nerd out with your article, ha!
It's the end of an era isn't it? Suspicious Activity was my first TBP album, and Prehensile Dream was an absolute favorite of my teen years. And something about Giant perfectly captures my thoughts, feeIings, and memories of the first decade of this century. AND I also gotta throw out Cheney Pinata as the most underrated TBP tune- I can hear the slaphappy joy in every note on that one!
This was a fascinating read even though I think you were a bit too hard on yourself! Saw TBP at Regattabar in Cambridge in 2004 and it was one of my all-time favorite jazz shows. You were an exceptional live band, IMO.
The version of "I Love You Always Forever" that you, Dave and Reid recorded with Donna Lewis -- while I suppose not a cover, since she's the original artist! -- is an especial favourite of mine, and is actually the one I heard before the original.
and re: Reid's compositions -- that era, especially among the Fresh Sound crowd (a chapter in some future jazz textbook I hope), seemed to really foster the creation of a new standard songbook, one which fell by the wayside as careers moved in further directions. But every time I hear Kurt record a new "East Coast Love Affair," I think about how many fantastic tunes from that time could fill a new "Real Book"....
"Oh my god, there’s a drum break on this early “Knowing Me, Knowing You” that is just hilarious."
I just listened to "Iron Man" for the first time, twice, and whatever it is that the drummer is doing at the 4:30 mark cracked me up both times. I'm skeptical that the ABBA one can be funnier.
I saw the Bad Plus for the first time last year and they were fantastic. I might have to catch them with Craig Taborn as this might be my only shot at seeing him in L.A. I believe he's only been booked in L.A. Once before, and Lord knows how many years will pass before he's booked again.
The Bad Plus gave something back to me that pursuing a career as a musician had taken away, a favorite band. A band whose name I would have written in sharpie on the back of my denim jacket when I was 14… I graduated high school in 1990 and was a New Wave/Post Punk kid who had only discovered Jazz at around 16. I didn’t really dig in until college at which point I just jettisoned everything that I had previously been into in order to try to catch up. I never paid any attention to TBP until I heard Ethan on a Billy Hart record (One Is The Other) and thought “that’s the piano player in the Bad Plus?!…” Anyway, I share your feelings about Reid as a composer. Thank you.
right on!
It breaks my heart to read “I was under the impression that the audience patiently waited out our original music before exploding when we finally played ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ or ‘Flim’”, seeing as I proudly list tB+ as one of my favorite bands, and listen almost exclusively to the originals. If it’s possible to be a superfan of Made Possible and Inevitable Western, then that would be me. Looking at the songwriting credits throughout the tB+ discography I saw the names “Anderson”, “Iverson”, and “King” over and over, and no doubt formed an image of my mind of a trio of three geniuses.
Anyway. Certainly, being raised on an unholy combination of avant-garde rock music, bebop, and Scriabin (oh, the YouTube™ generation…) shaped my response. In any case tB+’s originals are an enduring inspiration for my own compositions, and I just wanted to make sure there was at least one comment in here to this effect.
Nice to see fellow Inevitable Western enjoyer! I admin rock covers were a gateway drug (I think it was Flim I’ve heard first) but after a while original compositions have kinda grown on me.
thanks very much!
One song I wish TBP had covered was "Marquee Moon" by Television. I think you could do it solo, Ethan, concentrating on the two guitars more than the bass line.
I’ve loved TBP’s cover of “Velouria” since the day I first heard it, listening to it on headphones in the CD section of Borders! That moment made me a fan of the band for life.
That's so funny because that's how I discovered them, too! Borders, but it was the opening track of "Give". It was a sound like nothing I'd ever heard before.
Ethan, I’m heartbroken a second time(1st time when you split). I took my son to his first concert at the Kimmel Center(Philly). TBP warmed up for MMW. I was a huge fan of both. So, nirvana for me. My son was enthralled with you guyz. I was also. But Dave was exceptional that night. I guess because of the great Billy Martin was there. Any how, I’m very sad to see an end of TBP. All the best to the guys and to you also.
PS- we saw you at the Ethical Society in Philly also with Toody Heath. It was phenomenal! Thanks for the music!
Brilliant breakdown of how deconstructing pop structures can actually reveal more about composition than straight jazz standards ever could. The insight about Reid Anderson's cellular understanding of pop songwriting versus Jarrett's "serviceable" themes really hits home becuase it explains why tribute projects can obscure the real compositional innovation happening in a band. I dunno if anyone else caught this, but the tension between covers as career launcher versus compositional sidelining mirrors what happened to alot of fusion groups in the 70s. Back when I was trying to figure out why certain arrangements worked better than others, realizing that stripping out Evans-style voicings wasnt laziness but an aesthetic choice changed everything for me.
excellent and thanks
Thank you for this writing. I am a classical musician who only discovered TBP last summer. I have been obsessed since. I am no jazz expert - I didn’t even listen to jazz very much before this infatuation - but the stuff after Ethan left feels to me more like other acts whereas the early records are absolutely distinct - a perfect creative synergy between three musicians who are as virtuosic as they are curious and playful.
I cracked up when Ethan called up his weak rhythmic feel early on. There are some wicked metric modulations on these records. When you guys needed to be tight, you were. Then there is the delightful bitonality and all kinds of harmonic mischief. Ethan’s note about Stravinsky was so illuminating! Same goes for the Wes Anderson comment.
Thank you again. Since your music is fresh to me, I welcomed the opportunity to nerd out with your article, ha!
two thumbs up! thanks
I really like the cover of TV On The Radio’s 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯.
It's the end of an era isn't it? Suspicious Activity was my first TBP album, and Prehensile Dream was an absolute favorite of my teen years. And something about Giant perfectly captures my thoughts, feeIings, and memories of the first decade of this century. AND I also gotta throw out Cheney Pinata as the most underrated TBP tune- I can hear the slaphappy joy in every note on that one!
“Prehensile Dream” is one of my favorites! That was a good take on SUSPICIOUS as well
This was a fascinating read even though I think you were a bit too hard on yourself! Saw TBP at Regattabar in Cambridge in 2004 and it was one of my all-time favorite jazz shows. You were an exceptional live band, IMO.
Thanks so much!
The version of "I Love You Always Forever" that you, Dave and Reid recorded with Donna Lewis -- while I suppose not a cover, since she's the original artist! -- is an especial favourite of mine, and is actually the one I heard before the original.
and re: Reid's compositions -- that era, especially among the Fresh Sound crowd (a chapter in some future jazz textbook I hope), seemed to really foster the creation of a new standard songbook, one which fell by the wayside as careers moved in further directions. But every time I hear Kurt record a new "East Coast Love Affair," I think about how many fantastic tunes from that time could fill a new "Real Book"....
"Oh my god, there’s a drum break on this early “Knowing Me, Knowing You” that is just hilarious."
I just listened to "Iron Man" for the first time, twice, and whatever it is that the drummer is doing at the 4:30 mark cracked me up both times. I'm skeptical that the ABBA one can be funnier.
love it
I saw the Bad Plus for the first time last year and they were fantastic. I might have to catch them with Craig Taborn as this might be my only shot at seeing him in L.A. I believe he's only been booked in L.A. Once before, and Lord knows how many years will pass before he's booked again.
Maybe it's time for me to listen to TBP. Heard of them, but not heard them.
Great writing as always Ethan!
Long may it wave.
Ha! Love a Nyiregyhazi name drop! Bless 🙌
oh SOMEONE else knew the ref! Bless you back!