Penseur Du Sénégal II (Alternate Portrait)

Quartier des Artisans, Dakar, Sénégal
January, 2008

Anonymous Emerson College Student at Cambridge Laundromat

Cambridge, MA
24 April, 2008

Michael, In Shorts, Smoking, Sitting on BMW (Outdoor Portrait)

*This portrait and Michael's Shoes, Bumper, Muffler were taken during the same shoot.
Cambridge, MA
08 May, 2008

Please Don't Eat Me

I. View from kitchen

II. View from suite

This is based on a picture of Steve. In real life, it looks best when viewed from far away.

Red, black and white spray paint on door
Cambridge, MA
Summer, 2007

Rue Corniche

HLM 5, Dakar, Sénégal
January, 2008

Three Boys In Fatigues (From Superior's Vantage)

Cambridge, MA
22 February, 2008

"Terrain, Thick"

Fort Devens, MA
19 April, 2008

Yare

Taken with a pinhole camera

Aurora, IL
Winter, 2006

The Bad Plus at North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Just when you get used to seeing The Bad Plus, they go ahead and try something new. The trio’s maintained its stage presence, replete with Ethan Iverson’s (piano) minimal stage banter, Reid Anderson’s (bass) hunched posture, and David King’s (drums) comical antics. Premiering almost all new and previously-unreleased music at the North Sea Jazz Festival (save for one song), The Bad Plus continue to prove that they are in control of their artistic direction and identity.

The set opened with Anderson's "You Are," King's "My Friend Medotron," and Iverson's thought-provoking and slightly inaccessible tune, "Old Money." Without hesitation the band nailed a loud version of “Big Eater” (the only ‘old’ song of the night), cleverly prepended with a Milton Babbitt cover that segued elegantly. Then Iverson threw the curve ball: he explained that the next record, entitled For All I Care, had been recorded. Not only does it contain new cover songs…but they are sung by vocalist Wendy Lewis.

A grinning Lewis shuffled out from backstage, and grabbed the mic to start singing Nirvana's "Lithium." This was part lounge cover (the verses stripped down to a bassline, sidesticks, and Lewis' husky and pleading voice) and part rock song (Iverson kicked in with thick, dissonant riffs to replace Cobain's refrain of 'Yeah's). The crowd was shocked, but pleasantly so. The quartet continued with Bobby Vinton’s "Blue Velvet and the BeeGees hit, "How Deep Is Your Love". The arrangements proved exciting but still tinged with the Bad Plus’s inclination for chaos and non-traditional harmony. One of the most exciting numbers was a gripping version of U2’s “New Years Day,” featuring Lewis howling as emotionally as Bono. Iverson keyed out the main theme (originally played on a guitar dripping with reverb and other effects), successively transposing it down until it spiraled into another verse sung beautifully by Lewis. King’s presence on the vocal covers was most noticeably changed – he played quieter and saved his embellishment for sections without vocals. Other notable covers included Yes’s “Long Distance Runaround,” Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” (with Reid Anderson on backup vocals), and the Flaming Lips’ “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate,” which brought the dynamic level of venue up to a climax with a key change.

The band received a massive applause, causing Iverson to hesitate speaking into the mic; Anderson began to blush. The band was clearly happy with the response and merited their encore, Heart’s “Barracuda.” Anderson took care of the main riff in this song, replacing the memorable harmonics with a fitting glissando. The Bad Plus will continue touring, but it’s not clear how many other dates they will be joined by Lewis (she has been absent for the majority of shows on this tour, too, and only seems to have appeared once before at the Rochester International Jazz Festival). The Bad Plus is changing within the context of the sound and personality they have created, and have thankfully allowed some room for another talented musician. Some might say that the Bad Plus got away with selling out to cover songs, but that’s not the case at all – when you listen closely the honesty is there, and now it’s four times as strong.