The Bad Plus at Ted Mann Concert Hall on 10/4/06

By: Joe Lang

After a week of recording here in Minneapolis for their next album, The Bad Plus triumphantly took the stage at the Ted Mann Concert Hall to prove yet again why they might be the most important band in jazz.

The audience was buzzing and unready when the announcement was made, the lights dimmed and the members took their respective instrument in their typical garb: Ethan Iverson in suit (strangely enough, adorned with a fisherman’s cap), Reid Anderson in hip shirt and jeans, and Dave King with slightly dorky collared red shirt.

The band kicked off with the bittersweet “Everywhere You Turn,” a piece off of their major label debut, These Are the Vistas.  The piece had Dave King with his left hand devoid of stick as he gently massaged the cymbals and snare.  From there, King picked up his other stick, and the band played a full set of songs freshly put to wax this last week. 

The second song was a frenetic and frenzied number which had Iverson standing from his piano seat and King playing in his typical eccentric manner.  Between the two of them, with Iverson standing in the middle, it kind of looked like something out of a Mary Shelly book.  Iverson’s Dr. Frankenstein to King’s Igor. 

From there, the trio played the new “You and I is a comfort zone,” with some typical Bad Plus off-kilter changes.  The trio dedicated the song in a joking manner to Ellis Drums, the brand who sponsors Dave King.  The trio then went into cover territory, something that they have become known for.  What started out as a kind of “Moonlight Sonata” ballad came out as the disco classic, “How Deep is Your Love?”  “A question better left unasked,” dryly quipped Iverson between songs.

“Thrift Store Jewelry,” a Dave King song that has been in the band’s repertoire for some time, made its way into the set, and in between its up-tempo rhythmic chunks King took a stormy and furious solo that featured the pounding of his low-tuned snare, one of the trademarks of King’s playing that makes him so powerful.  The band then jumped into new, “Casa Particular,” an Iverson song about bonsai trees that move at night, “not by any human agency.”  The tune featured more plus-isms, including time changes, dynamics, and dissonance; in other words, it has to be heard rather than described.

Next the band played tribute to their hero, Ornette Coleman, with a cover of Coleman’s “Song X,” the title track of Ornette and Pat Matheny’s 1985 album.  Iverson left the stage after the song and Anderson took a slow and contemplative bass solo making his bass sound at times like an Asian stringed instrument along the lines of a pipa or dutar. 

When Iverson returned, the band launched into “Giant,” another slowish song that highlighted the band’s ability to play heartfelt ballads as well as thunderous romps. 

The highlight of the evening came with Dave King’s composition, a completion of a trilogy of songs he has written.  On their debut, the band recorded “1972 Bronze Medalist.”  On Give, their sophomore effort, the band featured King’s “1979 Semi-Finalist.”  Now the band has gone full circle (or so it seems) with King’s “1980 World Champion,” a crazed and humorous composition that is said to follow the emotional change of a world champion ski jumper who finds humility some time after his victory. 

Due to Iverson not filling the audience in on the last few songs as well as weaving in and out pieces in the final encore medley, it was a bit difficult to track exactly what songs were played.  The song before the encore was the new “The World is the Same,” another slow and tender piece.

The other highlight of the night came with what I believe is called “Physical Cities.”  The piece is in 5/4 time and features unison dynamics and lead lines that culminate with a syncopated unison march, which the band memorized note for note.  In writing that doesn’t sound like much, but to see a trio hitting unison syncopation with an odd-time and no decipherable repeating pattern is jaw dropping to say the least. 

The Bad Plus should be returning for their annual shows at the Dakota after Christmas, but until then, those in attendance were satisfied for their need of controlled chaotic instrumental excursions no longer found above ground. 

Location Info: Ted Mann Concert Hall
Artist Info: The Bad Plus

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