New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Legendary jazz combo The
Bad Plus share their new song "Sun Wall," available now via Edition Records at all DSPs and streaming services. Breakneck, avant-garde, and explosive, "Sun Wall" marks the second song from The Bad Plus' upcoming self-titled album arriving everywhere on Friday,
September 30. The new album is the group's 15th studio recording and eponymous debut album in their current iteration as a dynamic new quartet.
"I wrote this tune for my mom because she loved instrumental tunes in 7/4 with a broken over-the-bar melody and a bit of a melancholy hook," says drummer Dave King. "Then I borrowed the title from a Lee Krasner painting."
Twenty-one years after making their landmark debut as a genre-exploding piano-bass-drums trio, The
Bad Plus have reinvented themselves once again with the addition of guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed. THE BAD PLUS sees the always adventurous group continuing to challenge convention by pushing their inimitable approach to jazz in boundary-breaking new directions. The album was announced earlier in the year with the sharing of its first song, "Motivations II," available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
The
Bad Plus will continue to celebrate its remarkable reinvention with its globe-spanning live schedule continuing with headline tours and festival performances in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Highlights include a six-night run at New York City's world-famous Blue Note Jazz Club (July 19-24) as well as much anticipated double bills alongside visionary guitarist Julian Lage at Los Angeles, CA's Walt Disney Concert Hall (October 14) and NYC's Webster Hall (December 1). Additional dates will be announced soon. For updates and remaining ticket availability, please visit here.
Though the components may have changed, THE BAD PLUS makes clear what remains is the group's unique musical language and undeniable drive and intent. Of course, The
Bad Plus have been at this crossroads before, changing their original lineup in 2017 with pianist Orrin Evans taking the seat previously occupied by founding member Ethan Iverson. Two acclaimed albums followed, but in 2021 the decision was made to reinvent The
Bad Plus once again.
Rather than simply seeking out a new pianist, Anderson and King took a hard left turn and enlisted a pair of remarkably gifted musicians in guitarist Ben Monder - known for his work both as leader and sideman with
David Bowie (BLACKSTAR), Theo Bleckmann, Guillermo Klein, and Paul Motian, to name but a few - and saxophonist Chris Speed, an award-winning leader/co-leader of myriad modern ensembles and longtime musical running buddy of both King and Anderson.
Notwithstanding the new members' extraordinary pedigrees, the process of developing this latest
Bad Plus took hard work and perseverance. A series of intense rehearsals began in the summer of 2021. The quartet pored over new and old compositions by Anderson and King, emerging with a singular group sound that retains all of The Bad Plus's vaunted adventurousness while simultaneously setting them on a new pathway of genre-agonistic musical exploration.
Working with engineer
Brett Bullion, the band has fully maximized the sonic and dynamic possibilities of the new lineup, showcasing the virtuosity and musicality of
Speed and Monder while maintaining their trademark pursuit of relentless invention and excellence, blazing with the very same attitude that has defined the group for over two decades. Having recontextualized their own chemistry, the new LP not only affirms The Bad Plus's continuing relevance and longevity, it burns bright on its own terms as an extraordinarily powerful debut from an all-new creative force to be reckoned with. Listen to the new single here:
