https://scratchmybrain.com/2009/03/02/music-criticism-criticism-and-the-bad-plus/ Jeff Albert's blog Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:39:56 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.7 https://scratchmybrain.com/2009/03/02/music-criticism-criticism-and-the-bad-plus/comment-page-1/#comment-54323 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:39:56 +0000 http://scratchmybrain.com/?p=605#comment-54323 […] have mentioned the new TBP album here before, and the review linked below is a pretty good take on it. I really like the term “art rock […]

]]> https://scratchmybrain.com/2009/03/02/music-criticism-criticism-and-the-bad-plus/comment-page-1/#comment-54319 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:22:18 +0000 http://scratchmybrain.com/?p=605#comment-54319 Yes I think I do agree with you. As humans we continually make evaluations in terms of comparison and contrast. Ultimately I think it’s the music that challenges those genre expectations that help us hear a little differently. And to me that can be compelling certainly. After Eric Dolphy the possibilities were a little more wide open, for example. The Bad Plus album is not quite on that level, but they do something different within a form that could be a liberating influence for others, no matter what genre.

]]> https://scratchmybrain.com/2009/03/02/music-criticism-criticism-and-the-bad-plus/comment-page-1/#comment-54318 Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:00:51 +0000 http://scratchmybrain.com/?p=605#comment-54318 Well, if you judge it as a jazz record, it fails. It’s not a jazz record. If you judge it in terms of “is it compelling music,” I think it is very successful. That’s why genre classifications are counter-productive.

]]> https://scratchmybrain.com/2009/03/02/music-criticism-criticism-and-the-bad-plus/comment-page-1/#comment-54317 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:53:09 +0000 http://scratchmybrain.com/?p=605#comment-54317 Thanks for saying that, Jeff. It so happens I’m about to review the CD for Cadence, and I love it. It’s very hard to do what the Bad Plus do on that recording and pull it off–combine such vastly “different” stylistic material as tunes by Nirvana and music by Ligeti and make all of it their own. There are “purists” out there who will, and apparently do, hate it. Their ears are not ours, I guess. Too bad for them, since they miss out on something very nice indeed. Kudos for Bad Plus to have the nerve to do something potentially risky! That is very healthy for the music.
Grego

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