The Bad Plus, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
High Noon Saloon 701A E. Washington Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Cory Dewald
The band The Bad Plus.
The Bad Plus
$40 ($35 adv.).
Arts + Literature Laboratory and Wisconsin Union Theater have put together an outstanding series of events for the Madison Jazz Festival. A big draw is two full days of music at the fest’s traditional Memorial Union home on June 17-18, with music all day on the Terrace and ticketed evening shows by saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin & Phoenix and Lisa Fischer with Ranky Tanky. But don't sleep on the many events the prior week-plus, including an amazing twin bill of The Bad Plus and Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog (8 p.m., June 11, High Noon). It all kicks off with a pair of ensembles led by saxophonist-composers: the Dayna Stephens Quartet (7 p.m., June 8, Cafe Coda) and Mai Sugimoto Trio (7 p.m., June 9, ALL). June 10 celebrates the late Wayne Shorter, with a talk by Dave Stoler (10:30 a.m., Sequoya Library), a jam led by Chris Greene (1 p.m., Cafe Coda), and tribute concert (8 p.m., Cafe Coda). Find the full schedule below and tickets at madisonjazzfestivalwi.org.
media release:
Find full schedule details at https://artlitlab.org/programs/greater-madison-jazz/madison-jazz-festival
June 8: Dayna Stephens Quartet at Cafe CODA, 7 pm
June 9: Mai Sugimoto Trio at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 pm
June 9: Michael Hackett Quintet at North Street Cabaret, 8 pm
June 10: "The Musical Legacy of Wayne Shorter" Talk by Dave Stoler at Sequoya Library, 10:30 am
June 10: Wayne Shorter Jam Session feat. Chris Greene at Cafe CODA, 1 pm
June 10: Wayne Shorter Tribute Concert at Cafe CODA, 8 pm
June 11: Janet Planet at Allen Centennial Garden, 5 pm
June 11: The Bad Plus + Marc Ribot at High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
June 12: Golpe Tierra at Warner Park, 6 pm
June 13: Miguel Zenon & Luis Perdomo in Conversation, St. Joseph Church (Good Shepherd Parish), 10:30 am
June 13: Miguel Zenon & Luis Perdomo: El Arte del Bolero at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 pm
June 14: DIG JAZZ: Rick Flowers and Amalgam X at Penn Park, 6 pm
June 15: Awake: Volume 2 - the Music of Don Cherry CD Release at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 pm
June 16: Marques Carroll Quintet at Cafe CODA, 8 pm
June 17: Jazz all day on the Memorial Union Terrace feat. Kassa Overall, 1-10:30 pm
June 17: A Conversation with Lakecia Benjamin, 3 pm
June 17: Lakecia Benjamin & Phoenix at Shannon Hall, 8 pm
June 18: Juneteenth Celebration of Black American Music on the Memorial Union Terrace, 2:30-9:30 pm
June 18: Ranky Tanky with Lisa Fischer at Shannon Hall, 8 pm
media release: Groundbreaking jazz group The Bad Plus have shared a brand new single, “Electric Face,” available at all DSPs and streaming services.
“I wrote ‘Electric Face’ in Kingston, New York, during the summer of 2021, while listening to a lot of science podcasts,” says The Bad Plus founding bassist Reid Anderson. “When a caterpillar goes into the chrysalis and transforms into a moth, it basically dissolves and the structure is determined by an electrical pattern which is the guide that turns it from mush into a moth. There’s an electrical pattern in the face of the moth, and this is what inspired the song.”
“Electric Face” was recorded during sessions for last year’s game-changing THE BAD PLUS, available everywhere now. The band’s 15th studio recording and eponymous debut album in their current iteration as a dynamic quartet, THE BAD PLUS sees the always adventurous combo continuing to challenge convention with Anderson and founding drummer Dave King now joined by guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Chris Speed. Praised by The Times as “a welcome rebirth for a beloved band,” the album includes such unpredictable tracks as “Not Even Close To Far Off,” “Motivations II,” and “Sun Wall,” all of which find The Bad Plus once again pushing their inimitable approach in boundary-breaking new directions
Hailed by Jazz Times’ David Fricke as “one of the most enduring and acclaimed working bands in jazz,” The Bad Plus continue to maintain a busy live schedule, including an eagerly anticipated co-headline tour alongside Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, getting underway June 9 at Chicago, IL’s Thalia Hall. Highlights include a one-night-only triple-bill at Minneapolis, MN’s famed First Avenue featuring special guest Alan Sparhawk (of Low). For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.thebadplus.com/tour.
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Chris Lotten