The Bad Plus
Made Possible
Release Date: Sep 25, 2012
Genre(s): Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Modern Creative, Post-Bop, Contemporary Jazz, Avant-Garde Jazz, Mainstream Jazz
Record label: Entertainment One Music
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Album Review: Made Possible by The Bad Plus
Exceptionally Good, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
Two years ago, the Bad Plus released Never Stop, their first album of all-original material. The leaderless ensemble comprised of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King looked deeper inside the guts of the "jazz piano trio" than they ever had before. Made Possible extends that approach exponentially and unpredictably. They employ a looser advance here, with more adventurous compositions, arrangements, and the introduction of electronics into their music.
Based on rating 8/10
In 2003, I almost didn’t take to the Bad Plus just because of their name. I thought the name was terrible. Then again, I don’t care for most band names. If I didn’t allow myself to listen to bands with silly names, I would have missed out on some of my favorites. Their major label debut These ….
Based on rating 4/5
Made Possible is at once vintage Bad Plus in its striking themes, nonchalant time-bends and full-on collective improv, and proof of this awesome ensemble's continuing evolution. All the tracks are originals, apart from the late drummer Paul Motian's poignant Victoria, and there's some limited, but telling, use of electronics. The opening Pound for Pound is a classic slow-burn, unveiled minimally by pianist Ethan Iverson before he starts answering the inquiries of his right hand line with his left, and winds up in a chord storm driven by David King's implacable drumming.
Opinion: Excellent
From album to album, The Bad Plus continue to evolve and improve. John Eyles 2012 In the years since pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King formed The Bad Plus in 2000, the trio has built a solid reputation as a refreshingly innovative group that brings the energy of rock music to jazz. Made Possible, their 10th album, further enhances that reputation.
Opinion: Very Good
THE BAD PLUS “Made Possible” (eOne) DAVE KING TRIO “I’ve Been Ringing You” (Sunnyside) After more than a decade of steady touring and recording, the Bad Plus truly knows itself. That may seem obvious, given that its personnel — the bassist Reid Anderson, the pianist Ethan Iverson and the drummer David King — had an arresting, unmistakable sound almost from the start, wily and pugnacious and emotionally direct. But a deeper sense of security announces itself on “Made Possible,” the band’s eighth studio album, partly through some willful departures from the norm.
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