 |
| Ethan Iverson, Reid Anderson and Dave King at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis December 23, 2017 Photo (C) 2017 John Whiting |
Date of interview: December 2, 2017
Owner of the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis and a fixture on the Twin Cities music (and restaurant) scene for decades, Lowell Pickett has presented The Bad Plus at the Dakota numerous times; at the Cedar; in Phoenix at the Musical Instrument Museum; and in New York City. “They’re a band that gives listeners a sense of real joy,” he said. “Having them here for Christmas is one more thing that makes it worth coming home for the holidays.”
Pamela Espeland: The Dakota and The Bad
Plus have a long relationship. They’ve spent every Christmas here since 2001.
Lowell Pickett: It’s been wonderful to
watch them grow over the years – this upstart band that was playing these
irreverent versions of pop and rock hits, which is originally what got them
attention in some quarters. Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Blondie’s “Heart
of Glass” and things like that.
But
they also evolved and developed as individual songwriters. It was extraordinary
to watch them grow into this trio where all three members contributed equally
beautiful music to the repertoire they were playing, and asserted a balance
between the stuff that got them initial attention – their interpretations of songs
that a lot of people were familiar with – and their own incredible
compositions. More and more, they became known as a band where all three
members contribute equal levels of virtuosic musicality, and all three write amazing
pieces.
PLE: Do you remember when you first heard them
play? Did you have any idea they would be so successful?
LP: I
didn’t think of it in those terms. I don’t remember ever listening to music and
thinking “Wow, this is going to be successful” about anybody. You listen to
music and you enjoy it. I loved the music and really enjoyed them musically.
I
thought it was wonderful that as [The Bad Plus] became more successful, they
continued to have a base here. Prince did that for funk and R&B and pop
music, and Soul Asylum had a big hit and stayed in Minneapolis. When somebody
living in a community like the Twin Cities develops a strong national and
international presence, and a career that sustains them not only creatively but
financially, and they stay here, that opens doors for other musicians to do the
same.
[Note:
Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverson live in New York; Dave King lives in the Twin
Cities.]
The Bad Plus got a lot of media attention
when “These Are the Vistas” came out on Columbia in 2003. They were covered in
Jazz Times and Esquire. They were called “the future of jazz” and “the great
white hype.”
They
were on a lot of covers. They were upstarts, and some people, like Ben Ratliff
of the New York Times, were immediately taken by their musicality, creativity
and virtuosity. At the same time, other people felt it was a gimmick and were
dismissive of them. To watch that change over the years has been great, too. The
fact is, when anybody does anything new, there’s always criticism from people in
the community. That’s happened with all sorts of musicians in all sorts of
genres. Dylan’s an obvious example. When Dylan plugged in, people said “That’s
not folk music!” Fans of Big Band swing dismissed bebop. I remember running
into someone in the 1970s who was a big supporter of jazz but didn’t consider
Charlie Parker jazz.
The
Bad Plus certainly got a broad variety of responses. Some were incredibly
supportive and laudatory and some were very critical or dismissive. They’ve
proven over the years that what they were doing was real, that their
musicianship was real, their compositional skills are real, and their ensemble
playing was real. There weren’t many trios at the time that played as an
ensemble, because most were built around one player in the group – the Ray
Brown Trio or the Ahmad Jamal Trio. There was a collaborative and cooperative
element to The Bad Plus band that has also proved real over the years.
What do you think their impact has been on
jazz and creative music in general?
They’re
certainly one of the significant groups that have opened up an interpretation of
what jazz is and can be. For music to remain vital means bringing new things to
it – new ideas, new approaches, new concepts. The Bad Plus helped people
understand what improvised music can be, and another way it could grow. And
they’ve legitimized what they’re doing in the eyes of the world. They’ve proven
over the years that their creativity and their virtuosity were the real deal. They’re
just such incredible musicians, and they write so beautifully. All three of
them.
Who do you think their heirs are, if any? GoGo Penguin for sure, although they’re
probably more E.S.T. than TBP.
All
sorts of musicians have benefitted, and in different ways. I think it’s too
early to talk about who their heirs are. They’re still creating.
What thoughts do you have on Ethan leaving
and Orrin coming in?
Orrin
is a sensational pianist. He’s been to the Dakota several times. I know he’s
played with Sean Jones and Christian McBride. I’d have to go back and figure
out all the bands.
I’ve heard people say that with Ethan gone,
The Bad Plus won’t be the same.
No,
it won’t be the same, and that’s a good thing. What The Bad Plus are doing now
isn’t the same as what they were doing 15 years ago. Back then, they were known
almost exclusively for their interpretations of pop and rock songs, and now
they’re known as a band that writes significant amounts of their own music.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.