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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

The Folly Jazz Series’ season began on Saturday night with unconventional jazz trio The Bad Plus in their Kansas City debut. While not outrightly ideal for the casual or traditional fan of jazz, The Bad Plus has found its niche and is developing a new style of jazz with a progressive outlook, experimental emphasis, and respect for improvisation.

Opening with "2 PM," a seemingly free-form jam piece, The Bad Plus let the audience know right away what they are all about. Consisting of lots of dissonance, no clear hook or main melody (except for a sequenced riff in the piano and bass that returned a few times), and unusual experimental solos, "2 PM" was a brave choice with which to start the concert. Still, this and the rest of the program flaunted the group’s impeccable timing and rhythmic connection.

The second piece, "And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation," had a more structured groove and clearer melody, which exhibited that these gentlemen also have experience with and reverence for more traditional jazz styles. Pianist Ethan Iverson displayed his rhythmic and melodic dexterity by playing opposing and unrelated material in each hand in his most impressive solo of the evening. Iverson also showed his affinity for complex atonal harmonies and dissonance in every piece, but most notably in his solo introduction to "Mint" and during "The Empire Strikes Backwards." His repeated use of a falling triplet figure in nearly every solo became tiresome, however, as well as the many melodic sequences.

From the very start, drummer David King was mesmerizing to watch. I found myself so entranced by his masterfully precise rhythm and infectious, exuberant stage presence that I needed to close my eyes now and again, forcing myself to concentrate on the group as a whole. King especially shined on their covers of "Bleeding Heart" and "Film," mixing different styles and sounds and even using toys and his palms and elbows on the drumheads to create interesting effects.

"Bill Hickman at Home," a deliberately shaky slow tune, and "Guilty," a bluesy shout-out to old straight-ahead standards, prominently featured bassist Reid Anderson with two extended solos. Anderson’s playing was stylistically appropriate, with thoughtful sensitivity, good tone and vibrato, and employment of his instrument’s full range. Anderson may have had the most reserved, laid-back personality on stage, but he was certainly the most essential to the group as a calm foundation and anchor.

If "2 PM" was the least accessible tune, and the most accessible were "Super America," "Never Stop," and "Dirty Blonde," all with a distinct beat and more pop-like style, then closing piece "Physical Cities" was right in the middle. A highlight of the concert, "Physical Cities" was an aggressive rock-influenced tune (even bordering on grunge rock) with the best bass line, dramatic and massive piano clusters, and an extremely tight, drawn-out, and purely rhythmic line which has me convinced the three of them are telepathically entwined.

Truly a 21^st-century ensemble, The Bad Plus is proving that jazz is a genre that will not be left behind in this rapidly growing age of coalescing and collaborative popular music.

REVIEW:
Folly Jazz Series
The Bad Plus
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Folly Theatre
12^th and Central Streets, Downtown, Kansas City, MO
www.follytheatre.org

Photos by Cameron Wittig

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli

Editorial Assignments Executive Editor; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Kristin Shafel Omiccioli, a native of Madison, WI, holds composition degrees (M.M., B.M.) from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Kristin's compositions have been performed at national and regional new music festivals and conferences throughout the United States. During her time at UMKC, Kristin also focused on double bass performance and arts administration. She was a student leader and performer in many of the Conservatory's student organizations and ensembles, including Musica Nova, Composers' Guild, the Conservatory Student Association, the orchestras, and Wind Symphony. Her composition instructors were James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, and Chen Yi, and her bass instructor was Sue Stubbs. Formerly a guitarist, Kristin performed with big bands and her own jazz combo in Madison, WI, having studied jazz guitar and theory with Roger Brotherhood in Madison and jazz voice and theory with Hal Melia in Kansas City at UMKC.

Kristin enjoys being active in the performing arts community. She has volunteered with the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City and Charlotte Street Foundation, and has played in the bass section of the Northland Symphony Orchestra, among other bass gigs around the metro. Kristin currently serves as principal bass for the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and Heritage Philharmonic, and is a section bassist for Kinnor Philharmonic. She joined the writing staff of KCMetropolis.org in February 2010 and has been KCM’s executive editor since July 2011. Read her blog at mylittleheartmelodies.com.