These Plush Room performances represent a noteworthy accomplishment for the up-and-coming singer. Other than nationally-known chanteuses Paula West and Wesla Whitfield, Getz is the first Bay Area artist to be invited into the prestigious music room for a weekend residence, an honor normally reserved for the likes of Jane Monheit and Rita Moreno. The Thursday night show, by the way, will be Susan’s Birthday Bash. Come prepared for cake and special guests.

Getz is riding a wave of popularity brought about by the rousing indie-success of her 2005 debut recording, Jazz Boxx, an online smash at popular music sites like iTunes, AllAboutJazz and Amazon. Her haunting original “Say Goodbye to Love” became a featured download at AllAboutJazz in January and has since logged more than 25 downloads per day. NPR Director Robin Hilton chose Susan’s version of the Beatles hit “The Long And Winding Road” for his “All Things Considered” virtual open-mic. Susan’s debut CD, Jazz Boxx, has received airplay and glowing reviews across Europe, the U.S. and Brazil. Another sign of her growing reputation is the number of top-flight Bay Area players, like bassist/bandleader Marcus Shelby and saxophone dynamo Howard Wiley, who have been showing up in the band at her shows.

"...What if a jazz band refused to put itself in the genre's usual ghetto, but branched out to embrace the backbeats of rock and the melodic qualities of pop? And what if they did so in a way that didn't compromise any of jazz's improvisational adventure? That's what the Bad Plus has done. And the result has made this trio...one of the most acclaimed new jazz bands in memory." — New York Daily News

Dave King, Photo by Andrea Canter

It was just a few years ago that three young musicians with Midwest roots joined (or rejoined) together to create music that stretched the boundaries of modern jazz like elastic. They made two low-profile recordings before all hell broke loose with a big-label, chart-topping CD, These Are the Vistas (Columbia, 2003). And it wasn't a fluke, as The Bad Plus proved with more commanding sets for Columbia, Give,(2004)and Suspicious Activity (2005). The Bad Plus is a totally original, daring, and—above all—increasingly sophisticated melding of high talent and hot combustion. Bringing a surreal yet symphonic approach to an original and "borrowed" repertoire, this acoustic trio features Ethan Iverson's gorgeous, percussive piano, Reid Anderson's often-melodious, never laid-back acoustic bass, and the incredible resumé of rhythm and sound from Dave King's drum menagerie, all united in the spirit of true collaboration. After up for their early March tour of Europe, the Bad Plus will bring this spirit back to the American West with Yoshi's in Oakland (March 28th-29th) and at Catalina's Bar in Los Angeles (March 30th - April 2nd) and then back up to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz (April 3rd).