Jazz trio The Bad Plus in concert March 7, 2009

San Francisco Performances is proud to present edgy and irreverent jazz collective The Bad Plus, featuring double-bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King. The group will be joined by vocalist Wendy Lewis.

The trio are childhood friends who rejoined forces after leading separate musical lives--Iverson as Mark Morris Dance Company's music director, Anderson as part of the New York jazz scene, and King as an LA recording session drummer. Favoring group improvisation over individual solos, eschewing all jazz cliches, The Bad Plus rips into each set with a combination of Swiss-watch precision, the spectrum of dynamics and reckless abandon.

Four years ago, The Bad Plus released "These Are The Vistas," their first recording for the Columbia label. With a sound more akin to a rock and roll assault than to the politeness of a jazz piano trio, with influences ranging from Stravinsky to Ornette Coleman, and a repertoire blending diverse original material and provocative covers of Nirvana and Aphex Twin, The Bad Plus earned a reputation as one of the most forward-thinking groups in music.

The group has become staples at NPR and college radio and developed a strong presence on the international concert circuit, playing more than 170 shows in 2006 alone. Four years and two more landmark Tchad Blake-produced albums later (2004's "Give" and 2005's "Suspicious Activity?"), The Bad Plus' recent studio effort, PROG, was released last year.

$39/$27.

Official Website: http://www.performances.org