Jazz thrives on the unconventional, which is often interpreted as an intensification of the already familiar, almost as a counterpoint from the (jazz) basement to the fraying and exaggerated modernity of serious music on stage. The Bad Plus take a different approach and subscribe to song structures. On their latest album Complex Emotions, however, they have released the handbrake and sometimes take a surprisingly rough approach.

Proof number 1 is Cupcakes One, which rages through the ears at high speed with a mixture of direct, almost gruff saxophones, echoing guitars, clear drums and chattering bass. Deep Water Sharks also falls into this category, although the structure here seems to be more of a verse-chorus sorting.

Tyrone's Flamingo and the opening track Grid/Ocean, which meanders slowly through the minutes underpinned by a constant, dry drum groove, are more delicate.

The closing song Li Po forms a kind of counterpoint to the above. It is more orchestrated mood than song and gives an idea of why the band claims to be inspired by Stravinsky, among others.

The quartet consisting of the two founding members Reid Anderson on double bass and synthesiser and Dave King on drums and synthesiser as well as Ben Moder on guitar and Chris Speed on tenor saxophone create an immediate sound atmosphere on Complex Emotions that seems close enough to touch. The way in which they line up melodic passages and play around them with scratchy accents, the way in which the drums inject musically useful overplay in places and the way in which the bass securely carries the structure make the new album a real experience.

Brett Bullion has fanned out and mixed the sometimes very dense sound structure of Complex Emotions in a way that is easy to hear through, so that the diverse details find an excellent home in the Studio Master at 96 kHz and 24 bit.

Complex Emotions is an exciting album that stands out from the tradition-loving uniformity of most jazz recordings. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Reid Anderson, double bass, synthesizer
Dave King, drums, synthesizer
Ben Monder, guitar
Chris Speed, tenor saxophone

Photo: ©Evelyn Freja