The Bad Plus

“The Bad Plus have exploded all notions of what a jazz piano trio should sound like – superbly screwing with classic rock, pop and grunge staples.”

Performing a mix of highly familiar rock and pop pieces (covering the likes of Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Yes, Heart and the Bee Gees), The Bad Plus’ new album For All I Care - scheduled to be released in February 2009 - represents the band's egalitarian approach to all forms of music. The album also marks the first Bad Plus recording to include a guest vocalist as the fourth instrument in its sonic arsenal; Wendy Lewis, a longtime associate of The Bad Plus and a fixture in the Minneapolis alt-rock scene, steps in and takes the trio's ongoing experimental ride to a new level of exploration and sophistication. Lewis will be guesting with The Bad Plus in Victoria, who have not been here since JazzFest 2004, performing alongside original members Reid Anderson bass, Ethan Iverson piano and David King drums.

Since their debut recording Fresh Sound in 2001, the group has been touring relentlessly, playing to and establishing one of the most diverse and ecstatic cross-over audiences at jazz clubs, symphony halls and rock venues in the USA and abroad, with glowing reviews from traditional jazz outlets and more. The Los Angeles Times ranked the trio “among the leaders of what might be called the Nu Jazz movement.” And according to Rolling Stone Magazine, “By any standard, jazz or otherwise, this is mighty, moving music…hot players with hard-rock hearts.” In short, an array of music lovers have been seduced by The Bad Plus and their earnest, dizzying musicianship. Drawing on sources as diverse as classical, jazz, rock, pop and beyond, they have created a singular aesthetic that forces even the most skeptical listener to rethink the commonly held notions of what differentiates one style of music from another.

Performing both original compositions and a variety of covers, The Bad Plus brings a winningly disparate body of influences to the stage. This is not a jazz trio for whom being “rock-influenced” means simply playing loud. With deep experience writing and performing across several genres, these guys are shrewd, hearty improvisers with the ability to build, contort, distort, destroy, rebuild and reinvent without losing grasp of “the song.”