FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2015
CONTACT:
Rebecca Bailey, Publicity Coordinator/Writer
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College
rebecca.a.bailey@dartmouth.edu
603.646.3991
“Powerhouse trio finds its fated fourth member”: The Bad Plus Joshua Redman,
October 13
Photo (L-R): David King, Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and Joshua Redman. Photo courtesy of the artists.
HANOVER, NH—The Bad Plus—described aptly by NPR as “the omnivorous trio [that] has combined rock
themes, funk back beats and classical devices into music that's boisterous, challenging and delightfully
weird”—brings its fresh, dynamic collaboration with saxophonist Joshua Redman to the Hop’s Spaulding
Auditorium on Tuesday, October 13, at 7 pm.
Calling itself “The Bad Plus Joshua
Redman,” it’s as though the powerhouse
trio was destined to find its fated fourth
member in longtime friend and
collaborator Redman. Redman’s melodic
prowess blends seamlessly with the
“avant-garde populism” of The Bad’s Reid
Anderson (bass), Ethan Iverson (piano) and
David King (drums)—pushing the
boundaries of jazz beyond all imagination.
Metroland describes the supergroup best:
“Imagine if the Beatles had spent the first
decade of their career as a trio before
adding Paul. It’s like that.”
The New York Times described the
quartet’s eponymous new album as “a
knockout…It is impressive how much vital
presence [Redman] brings to the Bad Plus without altering the band’s dynamic." NPR called the CD "a roaring
and beautiful summit meeting…The ideas are impressive by themselves, but become more powerful as
Redman and the rhythm section go about developing them...[The CD] exhibits genuinely fresh thinking."
The Bad Plus came together at the end of the 20th century and has avoided easy categorization ever since,
garnering critical acclaim and a legion of fans worldwide with their creativity, idiosyncratic personality and flair
for live performance. Based in New York City, the deeply collaborative trio constantly searches for rules to
break and boundaries to cross, bridging genres and techniques while exploring infinite possibilities of three
exceptional musicians working in perfect sync. Wrote The New Yorker, “The Bad Plus are the Coen brothers of
jazz: Midwesterners, both ironic and dead earnest, technically brilliant, beyond versatile, a little chilly
sometimes, but funny, surprising, and pretty hard to pin down.”
A genuinely leaderless trio, The Bad Plus is equal in every respect, from composition to performance to
production. The interplay between these collaborators has marked the group’s work from the jump, infusing it
with carefully considered spontaneity, subtlety, style, and depth.
The genre-smashing band has created a distinctive repertoire of inventive and exciting original music, along
with arresting covers of artists as divergent as Nirvana and Neil Young, Aphex Twin and Ornette Coleman. In
2014, the trio reimagined one of the most influential works of the 20 th century, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of
Spring (Sony Masterworks). Said Jon Pareles in the New York Times, “They found it: the heartbeat. This is a
true connection, one that makes the piece newly vivid. As with the original, every instant is intense.”
The group’s 2014 album Inevitable Western carried on the trio’s commitment to the idea that serious music
can be as engaging and accessible as it is forward-thinking and provocative, with restless narratives and
propulsive cinematic vision that touch deep chords of memory while conjuring unexpected images. This is
typical of the high/low cultural outlook of the band, says King. “We have conversations which are so
stimulating as if we’re in an art salon. I’ve never experienced that in other bands. In The Bad Plus, we’ll talk
about a conductor or symphony for hours and then switch over to muscle car films from the ‘60s. In our music,
we believe high and low can be mixed together without seeming precious.”
The Bad Plus has almost exclusively performed as a trio for its nearly 20-year existence. Guests occasionally
join the band in concert, but only one of their previous 10 albums has included a fourth member. Redman,
however, has long enjoyed mixing his musical partners. He has collaborated with Brian Blade, Christian
McBride, Brad Mehldau and Pat Metheny, as well as with the SFJAZZ Collective and his bandmates in James
Farm.
The quartet took shape over a few years. In 2011, The Bad Plus invited Redman to join them for a week of
enthusiastically received performances at the Blue Note in New York City. They then played a handful of dates
before heading into the studio in 2014 to record their debut album, released May 2015 by Nonesuch. Seven of
the nine tracks on The Bad Plus Joshua Redman are new compositions by the quartet members, while the
other two are new arrangements of Bad Plus favorites Dirty Blonde and Silence Is the Question.
"On the live gigs, Josh plays magnificent, long tenor solos which are very much in the jazz tradition," said
Iverson. "That’s obviously not the focus when we play as The Bad Plus. It’s fun for us to enjoy that extended
blowing territory, especially with someone as great as Josh. On the album, however, there is still a focus on
composition."
Anderson told Minneapolis’ Star Tribune: "Josh is a professional of the highest order. He came in knowing our
music to the point of memorizing it, with great, positive energy."
Redman adds, "Playing with The Bad Plus has allowed me to explore a part of my playing, and my musical
heritage, that I’ve never before accessed in quite the same way with any other group. The adventure with The
Bad Plus pushes me toward the fringes and draws me into the core."
RELEVANT LINKS
http://www.thebadplus.com/
http://www.joshuaredman.com/
https://hop.dartmouth.edu/Online/thebadplusjoshuaredman
Download high-resolution photos:
https://hop.dartmouth.edu/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScont
ent::loadArticle::article_id=A14ACB33-679C-469F-9E075A08469894E7&sessionlanguage=&SessionSecurity::linkName=
CALENDAR LISTING:
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman
As though it was always destined to be, powerhouse jazz trio The Bad Plus finds its their fated fourth
member in longtime friend and collaborator, saxophonist Joshua Redman. Redman’s melodic prowess
blends seamlessly with the “avant-garde populism” of Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson and David King—
pushing the boundaries of jazz beyond all imagination. Metroland describes the supergroup best: “Imagine
if the Beatles had spent the first decade of their career as a trio before adding Paul. It’s like that.”
Tuesday, October 13, 7 pm
Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover NH
$25/35/40, Dartmouth students $10, 18 & under $17/19
Information: hop.dartmouth.edu or 603.646.2422
* * *
Founded in 1962, the Hopkins Center for the Arts is a multi-disciplinary academic, visual and performing
arts center dedicated to uncovering insights, igniting passions, and nurturing talents to help Dartmouth and
the surrounding Upper Valley community engage imaginatively and contribute creatively to our world. Each
year the Hop presents more than 300 live events and films by visiting artists as well as Dartmouth students
and the Dartmouth community, and reaches more than 22,000 Upper Valley residents and students with
outreach and arts education programs. After a celebratory 50th-anniversary season in 2012-13, the Hop
enters its second half-century with renewed passion for mentoring young artists, supporting the
development of new work, and providing a laboratory for participation and experimentation in the arts.