The Bad Plus: “7 Minute Mind”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Bad Plus is Ethan Iverson on piano, Reid Anderson on bass and Dave King on drums. For over a decade now the trio of Minnesotans-turned-New Yorkers have been blurring the boundaries between jazz, pop and rock with their innovative originals and clever covers of songs not usually lumped in with the jazz canon.
The group played together as early as 1990, but didn’t really come together until 2001 when they released their eponymous debut record. The group’s 2003 sophomore record These Are the Vistas raised their profile considerably with very interesting and unexpected covers of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” Aphex Twin’s “Film” and, most surprisingly, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
In the years since, The Bad Plus has released six records with one more on the way this fall called Made Possible. The band stopped by KUT recently and performed three original songs, including two from Made Possible. One of those songs, “7 Minute Mind,” is today’s song of the day. With it’s sudden tempo shifts, up-and-down bass line and noir-ish piano, there’s a dark, frenetic feel to “7 Minute Mind.” The song fills the listener with nervous anticipation at what the next shift will be. And that’s The Bad Plus: they’re always surprising.
Podcast: Download (7.5MB)
