The newest iteration of Bad Plus performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day Weekend. In 2021 they changed from a piano based trio to a quartet with guitar and reeds.The newest members are Ben Monder (guitar) and Chris Speed (reeds), both veteran progressive jazzmen. It’s a newer sound for the band and allows for a much wider range of possibilities. Although the original members, Dave King (drums) and Reid Anderson (bass) are the primary composers, Monder and Speed offer some compostions of their own. This was a great return to Detroit for them and they played quite a few few tunes from their soon to be released ‘Complex Solutions’ which happens to be on Detroit’s own Mack Avenue Records. They did bring a few signed copies of the new release on cd of which I was fortunate to get one. The vinyl version won’t be out for another month or so. Historically, they’ve always been adventurous. This is a new chapter and I was impressed by the quality of the new songs and the bands interplay with each other. To be a great musician and improviser, you need to listen. It’s obvious that they do. The original pianists of the band, Ethan Iverson, and then Orrin Evans, are off playing music under their own names. Ben Monder and Chris Speed can be found on many recordings. It’s worth checking all of them out. Review by Mick.
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