Concert: The Bad Plus

This is a good weekend for music. On Friday, I got a chance to see The Bad Plus at The Independent, in SF. This band can best be categorized as an instrumental jazz trio: piano, upright bass, and drums. But it is not your usual jazz trio. A simplistic but useful way to describe the difference is that the music is played with a rock attitude.

Jazz drummers are better than rock drummers, which is why the best rock drummers, such as Bill Bruford, would like to do Jazz. This drummer, David King, is like Bill Bruford on speed, if you will. Dangerously close to a circus act, but not there, fortunately.

Again, this is jazz played with a rock attitude, whereas Bruford/Wetton-era King Crimson is rock played with a jazz attitude. I like Bruford best when he is playing rock - he brings something unique to it; similarly, I'd say that David King is bringing some unique things to jazz drumming.

Important note: None of these two bands or styles should be confused with that often wretched thing called "jazz fusion," mostly seen in the 1970's.

The show included feats of synchronization and, as expected, fun and interesting covers of pop and rock tunes: Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Interpol's "Narc", which I liked better than the original, and, most enjoyably, Rush's "Tom Sawyer". Such covers are more and more common these days, to the displeasure of some critics. I am not bothered by them. What are "Autumn Leaves" and "My Funny Valentine", if not pop tunes? If those can be standards, why shouldn't a Radiohead song be one?

You can see them doing a decent version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit here:
TBP still lacks some of the maturity of a well-developed jazz ensemble, and has some to learn from Brad Mehldau, whose Radiohead covers are excellent ("Paranoid Android", "Exit Music", and "Everything in it's Right Place").

At home, revisiting the albums by The Bad Plus, I conclude that these is one of those bands that sounds best live and in person. Catch them if you can!