A few years ago, when I last spoke with Ethan Iverson, pianist for the propulsive and wide-ranging piano/bass/ drums trio the Bad Plus, he was enjoying a kind of attention rarely paid to instrumental jazz performers.
Some critics were hailing the group for its adventurousness and surprising selection of rock covers, from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” Other scribes took offense at what they perceived to be little more than hype about their music. If it was (mostly) positive or (occasionally) bad press, a lot of ink was spilled obsessing over the Bad Plus.
Recently, jazz critics seem to have calmed down about the band, but I hope not to the extent that the new CD, “Prog” (Do the Math Records), will be downplayed or ignored. As a trio working together since 1990, the players have become more intuitive, clever and intricate than they were at the height of their recognition.
The originals (all three members write) are explorations that might not swing enough for more traditional tastes, but they do have plenty of drive. And this time around, the covers are no less jarring than on previous outings. I didn’t know I needed a piano-trio interpretation of the classic- rock staple “Tom Sawyer,” by Rush, or Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” (Patti Smith also covers the latter on her new CD; what are the odds?) But there they are, and the take on Rush proves to be particularly fertile ground for improvisation.
“The basic thing about the covers,” Iverson says, “is that they need to translate to instrumental in terms of melody. It’s got to be a tune that you can play on a bagpipe and recognize it.”
From there, Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King begin taking the songs apart, shuffling their harmonic contents and finding new possibilities in songs you’ve possibly heard a thousand times. Sometimes the results can be comic, or occasionally poignant, but the approach always offers a different perspective on the rock songs buried in the subconscious of so many of us raised on FM radio.
“In a postmodern age, it’s so hard to get press coverage, so it’s great that people have something that they want to say (about the covers),” says Iverson.
If the Bad Plus approach to music hasn’t changed drastically, the record business has, putting even a high-profile act like this in a position where the members decided to go independent, after three well-received discs for Sony.
“We made this record on our own. We took out a small- business loan. We wanted to have our product the way we wanted to do it,” Iverson says of “Prog.” “Our relationship with Sony was pretty good, but we never sold pop-music- level numbers (of CDs).”
And that was OK by Iverson.
“The minute you start making money for a label is when the problem starts,” he says.
Unless, I’m assuming, that label belongs to you.
The Bad Plus, 7:30 p.m Friday, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St., Boulder; $17.50, 21 and over. Call 303-786-7030.
Set list
The Estes Park Jazz Fest finishes up today at Performance Park, with Groove Society, Jeff Jenkins Electric Band and more … Pianist Lenore Raphael visits Dazzle on Thursday, and bassist Ken Walker brings his sextet to Dazzle on Friday … Dotsero takes to the stage of Jazz@Jack‘s on Friday.
Bret Saunders’ column on jazz appears every other Sunday in A&E. Saunders is host of the “KBCO Morning Show,” 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays at 97.3-FM. His e-mail address is bret_saunders@hotmail.com.
