It’s time for me to rant about music just a bit. Those of you who already know me you are pretty used to (or sick of) this behavior from me.
I just want to throw down some words of admiration for a group that is new to me, but probably very familiar to you others (much thanks to Curtis “BPM” Cirillo for the tip). The Bad Plus is the name of the group and they are a three piece outfit featuring all acoustic instruments (very different for the youngsters these days) with piano, up-right bass and drums respectively.
It’s no secret that I am a huge jazz fan and to find something musical in any genre to get excited about these days is definitely a great thing so let me tell ya: these guys can really swing. The only thing that makes me wince a bit is that they seem to get lumped in with the “jam band” moniker a lot, but I don’t see/hear that in the sense that they are not another Medenski, Martin and Wood. No. They play songs in somewhat more of a jazz idiom where the songs actually have a head, a middle section and so on. They also do some interesting covers of Nirvana and Blondie. They definitely have a good sense of humor and have freakin’ chops to spare without it being over the top. In other words they play with fire and taste. The music is very dense and texural at times which I like (see: the Lounge Lizards Voice of Chunk).
Now how they play live may be a whole other issue and perhaps that is where they get the jam band thing tossed in there. I haven’t seen them live as of yet but plan to this November. I’ll let you know then….unless I see you there. You might not dig jazz and that’s cool, but you should give these guys a listen and maybe you’ll expand your musical horizons just a little more….and that’s a good thing. Free your mind and your ass will surely follow. Go buy their albums now.

Oh, apologies to my sister for the “worthless” statement in my last blog. Sorry, sis.