PFT Media

The Bad Plus lent us some time to talk about their latest excursion with their most recent addition, the brilliant pianist Orrin Evans. The latest album is titled Activate Infinity and has proven to be yet another creative boon for this prolific band. The music matches the moniker, redefining the concept of the piano trio yet again and working together beautifully. From the opening salvo to the final note, these melodies have anthemic passion and hypnotic charm that will sweep you away, be it the slower tempos or the ones on the upswing. One could say this outing could be the soundtrack to an older, wiser, and well adjusted Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang cartoon. 

The Bad Plus continue to deliver the goods with originality and an off beat infectiousness that has the urgency of rock-n-roll. Which isn’t easy when you’re following in the footsteps of giants like Ramsey Lewis, Vince Guaraldi and Allen Toussaint, not to mention contemporaries like Noah Haidu and Cat Toren. Since we’re talking about tickling the ivories, the next half of the show will dive into the piano trio game. We’re spinning some Ramsey, rockin’ a little Toussaint, hearing some Haidu, and more. Continue Reading …