The Bad Plus: The Band That Never Stops

It isn't typically news when a jazz group makes a change in personnel. But The Bad Plus isn't a typical jazz group, and its announcement, this time last year, landed like a bombshell. In short: Ethan Iverson, the band's pianist, would be leaving to pursue his own projects. Orrin Evans, an esteemed peer, would be stepping in. For a group that has always stood for musical collectivism — and never accepted any substitutions — this was a shakeup of existential proportions.

Jazz Night in America kept up with The Bad Plus as it made this momentous transition: at Orrin Evans' home in Philadelphia, where he raced to get up to speed; in a Brooklyn studio, during sessions for its album Never Stop II; and at Jazz at the Bistro in St. Louis, Mo., where Evans made his public debut with the band.

In this show we'll hear music from that explosive set, and reflections from Evans as well as the remaining founders of The Bad Plus, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.

All three members of the band, as it now stands, open up about the challenges of preserving a group identity while reinventing the dimensions of the group. "I'm not adjusting to a new Bad Plus; I'm just adjusting," is how King puts it. "This is The Bad Plus now." Join us in making their acquaintance.

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