Do I have to turn in my hipster credentials if I confess that it was a disco-era Bee Gees interpretation that turned me around on the new CD from the Bad Plus?
“For All I Care” (Do The Math Records) isn’t just the first ever all-covers disc from the daring piano trio, it’s also their initial foray into the field of vocal music, with a new fourth member, singer Wendy Lewis. Deconstructing rock songs is a specialty of the group, and they’ve torn apart Blondie and Black Sabbath with happy abandon in the past. So it isn’t that surprising that they’ve decided to take on Pink Floyd, Yes and Heart this time around. Initially, “Care” left me unimpressed, and it seemed that they were being outrageous for outrageousness’ sake.
But then I really listened, and it occurred to me that they weren’t being ironic when they were wringing out the possibilities of the harmonic, as well as the heartfelt, on the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love.” Lewis sings it like she means it, just like other jazz singers sang pop songs in the pre-rock era. Bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King supply sensitive accompaniment, and Ethan Iverson’s piano flourishes are just right. He even throws some bells into the mix.
“But I go nuts on the bells on (The Flaming Lips’) ‘Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,’ ” Iverson proudly tells me in advance of the group’s shows at the Boulder Theater tonight and the Soiled Dove Underground on Monday.
“Disintegrate” is the production tour de force of “Care,” and it’s just as lovely and expressive as the Bee Gees cover. Add the accomplished versions of classical Ligeti and Stravinsky compositions, and it’s revealed that the pros outweigh the cons. And I’ll bet the band really stretches out on these songs when it plays them live — that’s when its members are at their most audacious.
“There’s a hidden meaning on the title (of ‘For All I Care’),” says Iverson. “The line is from ‘Lithium’ (the rhythmically trippy Nirvana cover that kicks the disc off) but it’s also the music we care about. That’s the common idea, that there’s still room to get inside of these songs. We’ve always been a song band. We believe in the power of song.”
Critical reaction to the group has often been fractured, from those who believe they’ve been overexposed to the degree of eclipsing other creative artists to supporters who gush at their eclecticism. Iverson is pleased with the reception to “Care” so far.
“We’ve received some of the best reviews of our career,” he says. “Not everybody likes it, but that’s always been the story of the Bad Plus. Maybe some people want jazz to be one thing.”
If you believe that jazz can actually be many exploratory, beautiful things, then the Bad Plus might be for you.
The Bad Plus, joined by Wendy Lewis, 7 tonight in a taping of the “etown” radio show, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. in Boulder. $18.75. Call 303-786-7030. Also 8 p.m. Monday at the Soiled Dove Underground, 7401 E. First Ave., Denver. $15. Call 303-366 0007.
Set list.
There’s an extensive lineup of national headliners scheduled to perform in Denver and Boulder this month. New York’s Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is slated for CU’s Macky Auditorium on March 18. . . . Singer Madeleine Peyroux promotes her new CD, “Bare Bones,” at the Boulder Theater on March 21. . . . The annual JazzFest Denver moves to Dazzle and features Eliane Elias, Kurt Elling, Terrel Stafford and some of Colorado’s most high-profile talent March 20-22. Find out more at . . . . The Five Peace Band features keyboardist Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin and saxophonist Kenny Garrett at the Paramount Theater on March 25.
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.
