| It's Hard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 26, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | April 2016 | |||
| Studio | Brooklyn Recording, NYC | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 48:56 | |||
| Label | Okeh Records | |||
| Producer | The Bad Plus | |||
| The Bad Plus chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| PopMatters | 6/10 [2] |
It's Hard is a 2016 studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus released by Okeh Records label. [3] It is the group's twelfth studio album, and contains only covers. Allmusic selected it as one of their Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016. [4]
In his review for PopMatters John Garratt stated, "Though they remain a vital game piece in the modern jazz chessboard, an album like It's Hard won't help them zoom to the other side." [2] Steve Greenlee of JazzTimes wrote "After a few albums of original music and a reworking of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” the Bad Plus returns to its roots on It’s Hard. The trio, which mainstreamed the practice of turning modern pop songs into modern jazz, covers a wide swath of stylistic terrain on these 11 tracks..." [5] Richard Gehr of Relix added "After four albums of original music, the Plus returns to Plan A with It’s Hard, an album of sensationally reimagined material like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Kraftwerk’s “The Robots” and Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers.” Rather than merely soloing over changes, the trio refracts the originals through their own colorful, sonic kaleidoscope." [6] Bobby Reed of DownBeat added, "This all-acoustic, all-covers program finds the trio (pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King) playing to its strengths as perpetually intellectual yet mischievous musicians." [7] Patrick Jarenwattananon of NPR wrote, "After more than a dozen years spent touring the world, The Bad Plus' covers gambit seems much less like thirst for provocation than hunger for adventure." [8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Maps" | Brian Chase, Karen Lee Orzolek, Nick Zinner | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Games Without Frontiers" | Peter Gabriel | 4:19 |
| 3. | "Time After Time" | Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman | 6:14 |
| 4. | "I Walk The Line" | Johnny Cash | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Alfombra Magica" | Bill McHenry | 4:07 |
| 6. | "The Beautiful Ones" | Prince | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Neil Finn | 5:21 |
| 8. | "Staring At The Sun" | Tunde Adebimpe, David Andrew Sitek | 4:27 |
| 9. | "Mandy" | Scott English, Richard Kerr | 6:13 |
| 10. | "The Robots" | Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos, Ralf Hütter | 3:30 |
| 11. | "Broken Shadows" | Ornette Coleman | 3:32 |
| Total length: | 48:56 | ||
Tim Berne is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones.
The Bad Plus is an American jazz quartet, formerly a trio, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, consisting of founding bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King, as well as guitarist Ben Monder and tenor saxophonist Chris Speed.
David King is an American drummer from Minneapolis. He is known for being a founding member of the jazz groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple. King is also active in many other projects including free jazz collective Buffalo Collision with NYC "downtown" musicians Tim Berne and Hank Roberts and the electronic art/pop group Halloween, Alaska. He is also a member of the noise/prog band The Gang Font with former Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton. He also has a jazz quintet called Dave King Trucking Company.
Suspicious Activity? is the fourth studio album by the American jazz band The Bad Plus. The band had previously garnered attention for covering well-known rock songs in an "acoustic power trio" style, but Suspicious Activity? includes only one cover version: the theme to the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire. Instead, the album focuses on the band's original music, including the track "O.G. ," which is a tribute to the legendary jazz drummer Elvin Jones.
These Are the Vistas was the second studio album released by the jazz trio The Bad Plus, and the band's first album for a major label. The album was the listening public's first widespread opportunity to hear the band, which Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal called a "jazz power trio with a rock-and-roll heart." The album features several cover songs: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Blondie's "Heart of Glass," and Aphex Twin's "Flim". In November 2009, NPR's All Songs Considered selected the album as one of the 50 "most important" recordings of the decade.
Give is the third studio album released by The Bad Plus. It contains covers of Ornette Coleman's "Street Woman," The Pixies' "Velouria," and Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." The recording of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" on the European release is not the same as the one that appeared on The Bad Plus album.
Reid Anderson is a bassist and composer from Minnesota. He is a member of The Bad Plus with drummer Dave King, saxophonist Chris Speed, and guitarist Ben Monder. The original lineup of The Bad Plus first played together in 1989 and formally established the band in 2000. Anderson attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music.
Ethan Iverson is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.
Prog is the fifth studio album recorded by American jazz trio The Bad Plus. Like previous Bad Plus recordings, Prog features several covers including "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie, and "Tom Sawyer" by Rush. It was released on 8 May 2007 by Heads Up label to positive critical reception.
The Bad Plus is the eponymous first album released by The Bad Plus.
Orrin Evans is an American jazz pianist. Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia. He attended Rutgers University, and then studied with Kenny Barron. He worked as a sideman for Bobby Watson, Ralph Peterson, Duane Eubanks, and Lenora Zenzalai-Helm, and released his debut as a leader in 1994. He signed with Criss Cross Jazz in 1997, recording prolifically with the label. He was awarded a 2010 Pew Fellowships in the Arts.
For All I Care is a studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus with Wendy Lewis on vocals. The album was released in Europe on October 20, 2008, by EmArcy and in the U.S. on February 3, 2009, by Heads Up. This is the first Bad Plus album to include a vocalist, as well as the first to feature no original songs. Although the Bad Plus are known for playing cover versions of rock songs, this is their first album with nothing but cover songs, including a few 20th-century classical pieces. David King explained to Star Tribune that the main inspiration for the record was the seminal 1963 album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. As he mentioned, "The band still played like it was the John Coltrane Quartet, with or without Hartman. That's what we really aimed for."
Never Stop is the seventh studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus, released on September 14, 2010 by E1 Music label. This album is the first by the band to consist entirely of original compositions. The album consists of 10 original tracks written by bandmembers. A follow-up originals-only album, Never Stop II, was released in 2018.
Made Possible is a 2012 studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus released by E1 Music. It is the group's eighth studio album. Made Possible is the first album by The Bad Plus to feature electronic instruments.
Patrick Zimmerli is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and record producer.
The Rite of Spring is a 2014 studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus. It is the group's ninth studio album. It is an interpretation of the Igor Stravinsky orchestral composition.
Inevitable Western is a 2014 album by jazz trio The Bad Plus. It is the group's tenth studio album and it only contains original compositions. The rear CD insert features a photo of "Big Tex", the marketing icon of the State Fair of Texas.
The Bad Plus Joshua Redman is a 2015 album by jazz trio The Bad Plus and saxophonist Joshua Redman. The album was generally positively received, achieving a Metacritic score of 84%.
Never Stop II is the thirteenth studio album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus, released on January 19, 2018 by Legbreaker Records label.
Activate Infinity is an album by American jazz trio The Bad Plus that was released by Edition on October 25, 2019. The album contains eight original compositions written by band members.
