These Are the Vistas

For example, to say that this isn't jazz is just wrong. Ethan Iverson has been on the New York jazz scene for at least five or six years. During that time he and Reid Anderson have played and recorded with some of the most prominent names in jazz such as Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, and Billy Hart (see their five records on the Fresh Sound New Talent label). A close listen to these albums will validate their jazz credentials beyond dispute. To characterize people of this standing in the jazz world as imposters is simply ludicrous.

David King is a little bit of a different case. He comes from the rock world, and has had a fusion trio, Happy Apple, for several years. Thus, his rhythmic concept and sense of time, let alone his basic approach to his kit, are anything but traditionally jazzy, giving the band a very different flavor than the traditional jazz trio (check out the vibe he creates, and his astounding playing, on "Boo-Wah," e.g.). To me, his imaginative, off-kilter drumming is one of the things that makes this record so special.

There is a certain melodic and harmonic simplicity to this record that could be characterized as unsophisticated, but that's not really true (I really don't know where the idea that it's rhythmically simplistic comes from). It's more of a case of on-purpose accessibility and a desire to connect with a wide (esp. younger) audience than unsophistication. OK, there's a fine line between helping people get into something outside their comfort zone and pandering, but these guys are firmly on the right side of that line. Yes, they can be bombastic, even crude, but that's not because they don't know what they're doing. Again, it's an artistic choice, and one they use very effectively, at least to these ears.

As far as them not being able to play the blues, didn't these people listen to "Guilty"? Moreover, a close listen to Ethan Iverson will confirm that he is a pianist with monster chops.

What's really going on here with the negativity toward this record, I think, is what the French call ressentiment: a deep jealousy, even hatred, toward what is considered unworthy, common, or even just widely accepted. Its perpetrators, the cognoscenti, disdain what they regard as a concession to popular taste. Its upshot is always a counterposition that affirms the "real" thing, culture that is not the province of "imposters."

The negativity is also fueled, certainly, by all the hype this disc has received. Instead of being thrilled that a jazz record has broken out of ghetto, the naysayers grump and grouse about all the money and promotion thrown at the group and record. What's that? We should all be glad the record companies have finally decided to support jazz and that the music is reaching new audiences. Not to do so is small minded.

Startling, brilliant group conversation, exciting improv, an unusual and dynamic soundscape, stellar recording technique, imaginative yet accessible compositions, sly, intelligent covers--that's what I heard in this thoroughly remarkable disc when I first heard it and still do after scores of listenings.

Not this, though. I purchased The Bad Plus' new album "These Are the Vistas" just yesterday and can say that this is by far one of the greatest records I have ever heard.

The tunes that this piano-bass-drum trio play (and write) are just so fresh. If you're looking for a set of standards, do not buy this. Such tracks as "1972 Bronze Medalist" and "Big Eater" are just so new and revolutionary sounding. And the deconstruction they did of "Smells Like Teen Spirit"... just absolutely insane. I know that having such a tune on a jazz record seems cheesy, but its not. The song swings like nothing else.

The chemistry that this trio seems to have is outstanding too. The flowing groovy bass-lines of Reid Anderson, the stylistic and very sophisticated drumming of Dave King, and the harmonically rich and intelligent piano lines of pianist Ethan Iverson all add together to produce this wildly cinematic sound.

This, here, just proves how jazz is so alive.