The
stars over Manhattan must be aligned as never before, at least in the
vicinity of the Blue Note. And the result may be highly explosive as
two of the most energizing bands in modern jazz—The Bad Plus and
Jason Moran’s Bandwagon-- converge for a double header run
September 12-17.
 The Bad Plus © Andrea Canter The
Bad Plus
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 on 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
 The Bad Plus
At
least in instrumentation and compatibility, the Bad Plus resembles
the great trios of Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and, in a more modern
vernacular, Keith Jarrett. And if you listen for a while, you might
even hear some homage paid to those masters, particularly Jarrett. Of
their contemporaries, the Bad Plus sometimes has been compared to the
very hot Swedish trio, E.S.T. (Esbjorn Svensson Trio), a group that
fuses acoustics and electronics, yet emerges with a softer, less edgy
result than their all-acoustic American cousins.
Who
are these guys who have graced the covers of both Downbeat and
Jazz Times; whose story has hit Newsweek, the New
Yorker, Esquire, and Rolling Stone; who in the
confines of one year played the Village Vanguard, Newport Jazz
Festival, and Kennedy Center; who are revered as rock stars
throughout Europe? Anderson and King grew up in Minneapolis and
jammed together as teenagers, listening to such bands as Mike and the
Mechanics and Sting, and then turning to modal music and free jazz.
Iverson met Anderson in college and the two played free jazz in area
restaurants, hooking up with Dave King informally in 1990. "The
one time we played, it was an informal jam session. It was 10 years
until the band was formed," Iverson says. Going their separate
ways, Anderson headed to Philadelphia where he studied classical bass
at the Curtis Institute of Music and Iverson jumped into the music
scene in New York, while King found plenty of outlets around home.
After
graduating from Curtis in 1993, Reid Anderson moved to
New York, where he played with other up-and-coming musicians such as
Mark
Turner,
Jorge
Rossy,
Kurt
Rosenwinkel,
and, yes, Ethan Iverson, and led
groups at Smalls that included future star pianist Orrin Evans. He’s
been the leader on three recordings for Fresh Sound, including Dirty
Show Tunes, Abolish Bad Architecture, and The Vastness of
Space, and has performed and recorded with numerous artists. Says
David Adler (All About Jazz), Reid Anderson is “a bassist
and composer of rare gifts who simply must be heard and appreciated
by a wider audience.”
 Dave King © Andrea Canter Meanwhile,
Dave King worked a while as a session musician in LA in
the early 90s before returning to the Twin Cities, where he is the
Energizer Bunny of drummers, both in terms of his frenetic musical
wizardry and his simultaneous association with no less than eight
bands. In addition to the Bad Plus, most notable has been Happy Apple
(Youth Oriented), with saxophonist Michael Lewis and bassist
Adam Linz, a band straddling avant garde jazz and alternative rock
that has an immense following among the 20-something generation.
Traditional approaches to percussion have never appealed to King,
whose technique is described by Matt Peiken (St. Paul Pioneer
Press) as relying “on incredible finger control to nuance his
fills, which often defy the neat subdivisions of typical beats.”
Similarly idiocyncratic is King’s collection of “instruments”
that includes walkie talkies and children’s toys.
Pianist
Ethan Iverson is the one member of this trio who can not
claim inspiration from a background in rock music. As a 17-year-old
high school student, the classically trained Iverson moved to New
York in 1991 and studied privately with Sofia Rosoff and jazz pianist
Fred Hersch. Iverson has been engaged in a number of solo and
ensemble projects, the latter involving work with Mark Turner, Dave
Douglas, Bill McHenry, Billy Hart, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and old jamming
buddy Reid Anderson. His debut recording, School Work (Mons,
1995), featured sax legend Dewey Redman. With his trio, Iverson has
released Live at Smalls, The Minor Passions, and Construction
Zone (Originals) / Deconstruction Zone (Standards) for
Fresh Sound, each cited by The New York Times as one of
the ten best recordings of 1998, 1999, and 2000 respectively.
Iverson has also served
as the musical director for the Mark Morris Dance Group, performing
with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Yo Yo Ma. Notes the Penguin Guide,
“Iverson is an original thinker and likely to be a very major
force... implacably opposed to anything predictable, conventional or
otherwise previously-done."
Jason
Moran and Bandwagon  Jason Moran Bandwagon Named
the first Playboy Jazz Artist of the Year for 2005, 31-year-old Moran
has followed a fast-rising trajectory since his days touring with hot
alto saxophonist Greg Osby. With “one of the
most independent minds now working in jazz” (New York Times),
Moran’s music crosses genres and generations with a singular energy
and imagination, as “one of the most potent suppliers of
unpredictable music around” (JazzTimes).
Born
and raised in Houston, Jason Moran and his brothers were surrounded
by opportunities to explore the arts and particularly music. His
father, banker Andy Moran, was a jazz enthusiast who served as house
photographer for La Bastille, Houston’s premiere jazz club in the
1970s. The elder Moran built a collection of over 10,000 records that
provided young Jason with the eclectic foundation that would inform
his own music. The Morans introduced their sons to the arts of
Houston through trips to the symphony and art museums, and enrolled
them in the Suzuki Music School of Houston. There, the brothers
studied classical piano with Russian immigrant, Yelena Kurinet,
and soon each had his
own piano. Kurinet remembers Jason, at age five or six: “It was
obvious he was talented. He was a pretty serious young man."
 Jason Moran Moran
is always experimenting. Recently, with the help of a grant from
Chamber Music America, he has been developing compositions based on
tapes of speaking voices in different languages (Italian, Japanese,
Turkish) and has integrated loops of telephone conversations in
different languages into the music of his ensemble. He also recently
premiered “Rain,” a work commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center,
featuring The Bandwagon with Abdou Mboup (kora, djembe and talking
drum) and Ralph Alessi (trumpet). In 2005, Moran and Bandwagon
released Same Mother (Blue Note), a tribute to his mother.
Described by Ben Ratliffe (New York Times) as “a
reconsideration of the blues that doesn’t depend on clichéd
dynamics and sound structure,” the recording infuses blues and even
a little honky tonk with modern grooves of hip hop and rock.
 Nasheet Waits © Barry Quick Moran’s
compatriots in The Bandwagon are well-established artists with
acclaimed careers of their own. Drummer Nasheet Waits
was encouraged to follow in the footsteps of his father, drummer
Fredrick Waits, who played with such legends as Ella Fitzgerald,
Sonny Rollins, and McCoy Tyner. Hired by Max Roach as a member of the
M’Boom ensemble, Waits went on to work with Antonio Hart, with whom
he continues to record and tour. He has also worked as a member of
Andrew Hill’s Nonet and holds the percussion chair for the Fred
Hersch Trio. His recording credits include Geri
Allen, Hamiett Bluiett, Jaki Byard, Ron Carter, Steve Coleman, Joe
Lovano, Jackie McLean, Joshua Redman, Wallace Roney, Jacky Terrason,
Mark Turner, and many others. Bassist Taurus Mateen has
managed the pulse for many of today’s top jazz artists, including
Greg Osby, Marc Cary, Wessell Anderson. With Waits, he has appeared
on each of Moran’s ensemble recordings since Facing Left. The
most recent addition to the Band Wagon, guitarist Marvin Sewell
is a native of Chicago who grew up influences by the many genres of
the Windy City, from rock to gospel to blues and jazz. He had many
opportunities to play with the local greats, including Von Freeman,
Ramsey Lewis, Billy Branch, Jody Christian, Big Time Sarah, and
Barbara La Shore. After studying composition at Roosevelt
University, he headed to New York. In the past 15 years he has played
with David Sandborn, Marcus Miller, Greg Osby, Joe Lovano, George
Benson and Jack DeJohnette.
Together
at the Blue Note
It’s
hard to imagine a more combustible billing that the Bad Plus and
Bandwagon at the Blue Note, September 12-17. Be sure to wear an
asbestos jumpsuit and bring along a fire extinguisher—this booking
will be a sonic meltdown. Information and reservations at
www.bluenotejazz.com
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