Falling somewhere between
Medeski, Martin & Wood,
Ben Folds Five, and
the Oscar Peterson Trio, power jazz trio
the Bad Plus deliver more idiosyncratic instrumentals on their sophomore effort,
Give. Featuring bassist
Reid Anderson, drummer David King, and pianist
Ethan Iverson,
the Bad Plus follow a similar creative path as on their debut,
These Are the Vistas, by interspersing original compositions with covers of popular rock tunes. This time around
the Pixies' "Velouria" is turned into a kind of
Sergei Rachmaninov does funk jazz number while
Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" sounds something like a
Claude Debussy arrangement of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." Otherwise, the trio evinces free jazz with
Ornette Coleman's "Street Woman," and does a bombastic impersonation of
Vince Guaraldi on the original "Layin' a Strip for the Higher-Self State Line." While obviously talented and often inspired, it is unclear if
the Bad Plus are avant-garde enough to appeal to hardcore jazz fans, or pop-oriented enough to grab the attention of rock listeners. However, fans of quirky, experimental music may find this worth a listen. ~ Matt Collar