The Bad Plus : NPR

The Bad Plus' Never Stop II comes out Jan. 19. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

Review

First Listen

Review: The Bad Plus, 'Never Stop II'

WBGO

January 11, 2018 • Each album by The Bad Plus can be understood as a planted flag, a marker of group identity. Hear the jazz trio's first record with new pianist Orrin Evans.

Sexism From Two Leading Jazz Artists Draws Anger — And Presents An Opportunity

Anonymous (male) jazz players. Markus Amon/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Markus Amon/Getty Images

The Record

Sexism From Two Leading Jazz Artists Draws Anger — And Presents An Opportunity

March 9, 2017 • A conversation between two leading jazz musicians led to a public debate over misogyny in the form on International Women's Day.

The Bad Plus' new album, It's Hard, comes out Aug. 26. Josh Goleman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Josh Goleman/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Review: The Bad Plus, 'It's Hard'

August 18, 2016 • The leaderless piano trio became famous for its cover songs more than a dozen years ago. Now, an all-covers record finds an established and quirky band once again testing its powers of interpretation.

Charenee Wade led a band featuring saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin in a program featuring the music of Gil Scott-Heron (and his collaborator, Brian Jackson). John Rogers for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

John Rogers for NPR

A Blog Supreme

What We Loved At Winter Jazzfest 2016

January 20, 2016 • After wading through more music than one person can possibly see, here's how six different writers (and a photographer) remember this year's edition of a glorious annual overload.

Review

Song Of The Day

Not Quite Jazz, Not Quite Rock

April 3, 2007 • It's hard to decide what to make of The Bad Plus, whose sound has no pretense of operating at either extreme of jazz and rock, but instead plays with the colors in between.

Review: Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus, 'The Bad Plus Joshua Redman'

Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus' new album, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, comes out May 26. Cameron Wittig/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Cameron Wittig/Courtesy of the artist

Review

First Listen

Review: Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus, 'The Bad Plus Joshua Redman'

May 17, 2015 • The rangy, prolific jazz trio teams up with the tenor-sax great for a journey into the murky, terrifying, thrilling unknown.

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman At Detroit Jazz Festival

Joshua Redman and The Bad Plus play the Detroit Jazz Festival. Susan Hale Thomas/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Susan Hale Thomas/NPR

Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman At Detroit Jazz Festival

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

May 18, 2015 • Both the saxophonist and the collaborative trio are among the most celebrated and thoughtful jazz acts of the last couple decades. Their new quartet together remakes each others' tunes.

First Listen: The Bad Plus, 'The Rite Of Spring'

The Bad Plus' new album, The Rite of Spring, comes out March 25. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: The Bad Plus, 'The Rite Of Spring'

March 16, 2014 • A jazz trio plays the score to Igor Stravinsky's gloriously noisy, 101-year-old fever dream of a ballet as literally as possible — and still manages to sound like itself.

The Rite of Spring

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Dave King Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

Dave King. John Rogers for NPR/johnrogersnyc.com hide caption

toggle caption

John Rogers for NPR/johnrogersnyc.com

Live At The Village Vanguard

Dave King Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

WBGO

September 11, 2013 • Known for experimentation, The Bad Plus' drummer performs conventional modern jazz on the side. With two underground rhythm-section guys, he travels to one of New York City's most prestigious clubs.

Dave King Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard

1:10:49

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/218688985/221712906" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Dave King. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

A Blog Supreme

The Odd Jobs Of The Bad Plus' Dave King

September 10, 2013 • Before he was the drummer for The Bad Plus, King developed a strong work ethic — or maybe not — doing various forms of menial labor in the Midwest.

The Bad Plus (L-R): Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, Dave King. John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com hide caption

toggle caption

John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com

Concerts

The Bad Plus: New Year's Eve On JazzSet

WBGO

December 23, 2010 • The power piano trio was born in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area 10 years ago, and since then, it's become one of the biggest acts in jazz. As we count down to 2011, here's how the power piano trio rang in 2010 at the Village Vanguard in New York.

The Bad Plus in Concert on Toast Of The Nation 2009

57:57

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/132268570/132268883" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

The Bad Plus (L-R): Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson, Dave King. John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com hide caption

toggle caption

John Rogers/johnrogersnyc.com

Concerts

The Bad Plus: New Year's Eve On JazzSet

WBGO

December 23, 2010 • The power piano trio was born in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area 10 years ago, and since then, it's become one of the biggest acts in jazz. As we count down to 2011, here's how the power piano trio rang in 2010 at the Village Vanguard in New York.

The Bad Plus in Concert on Toast Of The Nation 2009

57:57

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/132268570/132268883" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Why Jazz Musicians Love 'The Rite Of Spring'

Flutist Hubert Laws is one of many jazz artists to have recorded an adaptation of themes from The Rite of Spring. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

Why Jazz Musicians Love 'The Rite Of Spring'

May 26, 2013 • A 100-year-old ballet, composed by a Russian for a French audience, has become something of a standard in an idiom which didn't exist when it premiered. Whether covered, quoted or praised, Stravinsky's masterwork has inspired multiple generations of improvisers.

Favorite Sessions

The Bad Plus Handles Jazz, Rock With 'Care'

KNKX Public Radio

April 21, 2009 • It's the tradition of jazz to interact with contemporary popular music, which is exactly what The Bad Plus does. Having just added rock singer Wendy Lewis to its lineup, the energetic jazz trio performs new standards from Nirvana and The Bee Gees in a session from Jazz24.

The Bad Plus in Studio on Jazz24 3/13/09

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/103324094/103278312" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Music Reviews

The Bad Plus Covers Up In 'For All I Care'

Fresh Air

February 13, 2009 • Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews For All I Care, the new album from The Bad Plus joined by Wendy Lewis.

The Bad Plus Covers Up In 'For All I Care'

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100678552/100678551" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Concerts

The Bad Plus, Spanish Harlem Orchestra: The Shape Of Jazz To Come

WBGO

February 12, 2009 • The Fifth Annual Portland Jazz Festival celebrated "The Shape of Jazz to Come" with jazzart-rock trio The Bad Plus and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, both playing to full houses at the historic, slightly psychedelic McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR.

The Bad Plus, Spanish Harlem Orchestra: The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100643996/100619301" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

Song Of The Day

The Bad Plus: The Dark Heart Of The Bee Gees

February 9, 2009 • A ghostly bass plucks out notes that tremble with foreboding. A Steinway piano injects haunting, minor-key arpeggios. A woman chimes in, her voice seemingly filtered through gauze. It's natural to expect a song of apocalyptic doom, until it becomes clear that she's crooning "How Deep Is Your Love," that falsetto-fueled Bee Gees relic from the disco era.

How Deep Is Your Love

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100424612/100416121" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

WBGO

November 13, 2007 • The Bad Plus' members bring comedy to their not-quite-jazz music, but they're also serious musicians. The trio records mainstream popular standards and '70s progressive rock with a sense of drama. Hear an interview and in-studio performance recorded by WBGO.

The Bad Plus in Studio on WBGO

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/16228535/16228259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music Interviews

The Bad Plus

May 9, 2003 • Host Michele Norris talks with members of the jazz trio The Bad Plus. The group's core consists of the traditional jazz trio of piano, bass and drums, but band members approach their music with a rock 'n' roll heart. Their CD, These are the Vistas, is produced by Tchad Blake, who is known for producing rock 'n' roll records. In fact, the band loves to tear apart rock classics such as Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or Blondie's "Heart of Glass." But band members say their focus is on their original tunes, which they describe as cinematic adventures.

The Bad Plus

Listen · 4:07 4:07

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1258433/1258434" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Live in Concert

Gomez In Concert

June 23, 2006 • Britain's experimental rock group Gomez is known for blurring lines between musical forms and genres, creating an entirely original sound nearly impossible to pin down to any one style. The band visited Washington, D.C. for a full concert June 22, webcast live on NPR.org with jazz trio The Bad Plus.

Gomez in Concert on All Songs Considered

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5496361/5505689" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

The Bad Plus With Bill Frisell, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

Pianist Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus performs at the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival. Erik Jacobs for NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Erik Jacobs for NPR

Newport Jazz Festival

The Bad Plus With Bill Frisell, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

GBH

August 8, 2012 • A long-running piano trio sui generis meets one of its heroes, a guitarist down for anything involving good musicians. Here, the group pays tribute to the late drummer and composer Paul Motian.

The Bad Plus With Bill Frisell, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

Audio for this story is unavailable.