Overview
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to do the following:
- Recognize some of the key American and Cuban jazz artists and their contributions to Latin jazz
- Recognize some of the international figures in jazz who contribute to the globalization of jazz
- Recognize some of the recent jazz artists, both mainstream and progressive, whose art continues to fuel the debate about the future of jazz—and what jazz is
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus is an acoustic jazz trio with roots in Minneapolis, formed in 2000 by pianist Ethan Iverson (b.1973), bassist Reid Anderson (b. 1970), and drummer Dave King (b. 1970). The group merges elements of avant-garde jazz with aspects of rock, pop, and classical music. While the group has "covered" the music of such rock icons as Nirvana and Radiohead, they have established themselves largely on the basis of their own compositions. All three musicians are pianists and composers, and their pieces tend to be virtuosic, featuring a tight-knit collective sound. They also have a fondness for irregular meters and changing tempos.
The Bad Plus improvises not only within the piece's melody and harmony, but also by contracting and augmenting formal sections as they perform. Their improvisations do not follow the same changes, chorus-after-chorus — and a chorus itself might be modified in length. The group's approach is innovative and organic, depending on a collective awareness of the direction that might be initiated by an individual member. Their music challenges our expectations of what jazz should sound like.
Like much progressive jazz, the group's sound can be highly variable from one piece to the next. The 2005 album Suspicious Activity? is a case in point. The Empire Strikes Backwards ♫ offers a good sample, and we get a flavor of their music. But any single piece will fall short of conveying the richness, complexity, and depth of the trio's music. This is a good starting point, though. The group's sound here is buoyant and infectious, while many other pieces can be hauntingly beautiful, bordering on disturbing. Consider, too, that this is jazz piano trio instrumentation, with a long rich history. Let's listen The Empire Strikes Backwards ♫.
The rhythmic complexity of the material and the piece's formal design ensure that much of what we hear is composed. The headA synonym for melody. consists of a main theme (0:10-0:19), which connects to a secondary theme in the minor mode (0:26-0:40). Linking material connects back to a restatement of the main theme (0:51-1:00), followed once again by the secondary theme (1:06-1:20) and the link back to a third statement of the main theme (1:31-1:40). Improvisational episodes are then interspersed with restatements of the main theme (2:12-2:20 and 2:53-3:02), until a greatly expanded main theme (3:34-4:35) leads to a final statement of the secondary theme in the minor mode (4:36-4:50). This time the secondary theme does not circle back, instead leading to a tender and intimate coda featuring Reid Anderson on bass (4:52-5:38).
"I Heard it Through the Grapevine" has been recorded by several different artists, including Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, and Roger Troutman, who all had #1 R&B hits with their versions, making this the only song to hit #1 on R&B charts for 3 different artists.
