Dave King of The Bad Plus: Band History, Covers, Drumming, Mindset, Complex Emotions & State of Jazz

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Episode 56 - Dave King of The Bad Plus.

The Bad Plus is one of the world’s most exciting and innovative ensembles. Over the past 20 years, they’ve created a groundbreaking sound that blends jazz and avant-garde music in a way that’s uniquely their own—beautifully melodic, dark, twisted, soft, loud, simple, and incredibly complex, all in one.

Their drummer, Dave King, is one of my all-time favorite drummers. Creating a distinctive and instantly recognizable voice on an instrument is rare, but Dave achieved that right from their debut album.

Dave joined me in the studio to discuss the story of The Bad Plus—their beginnings, the feelings of success, their mindset and approach to writing music, and the process of creating their now-iconic cover songs. We talked about meeting artists like Aphex Twin and Black Sabbath, whose music they’ve covered, and hearing their reactions. We also dove into performing on Jools Holland, touring with The Pixies as a jazz trio, their new album Complex Emotions, Dave’s hilarious web series Rational Funk, and much more.
We hope you enjoy this fun and insightful conversation with the incredible Dave King!

0:00:00 - INTRO
0:04:29 - THESE ARE THE VISTAS, INSPIRING ELMO
0:05:42 - BREAKTHROUGH AFTER RELEASING WE ARE THE VISTAS
0:08:52 - HOW THE RECORD HAPPENED
0:14:51 - A DIFFERENT JAZZ PIANO TRIO
0:22:47 - BIG EATER, FLIM, APHEX TWIN
0:26:14 - MEETING APHEX TWIN, FLIM, MEETING COVERED ARTISTS
0:31:48 - JULES HOLLAND PERFORMANCE, PIXIES, TOM JONES
0:36:13 - PIXIES, CONAN O’BRIAN
0:40:27 - MUSIC COVERS
0:48:55 - HARDEST BAD PLUS SONGS ARE COVERS, CHARIOTS OF FIRE
0:50:09 - HOW TO MAKE IT AS AN AVANT GARDE MUSICIAN
0:54:30 - COMPLEX EMOTIONS ALBUM, QUARTETS
0:55:48 - HOW BAD PLUS WRITES MUSIC, QUARTETS
0:59:00 - NAMING THE BAND, SONGS, ART DIRECTIONS, AND AESTHETICS
1:00:04 - WHAT IS THE BAD PLUS NOW? NEW ALBUM, PACHYDERM AND OTHER STUDIO SESSIONS
1:02:19 - MINNESOTA TALENT, JIMMY JAM, CORY WONG
1:02:53 - TOURING WITH THE BAD PLUS
1:06:30 - DRUMMING WITH TOYS
1:15:35 - STRAVINSKY’S RITE OF SPRING
1:25:44 - RATIONAL FUNK
1:34:11 - WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE SO MUCH HAIR
1:36:13 - CURRENT STATE OF JAZZ AND MAKING AN INCOME PLAYING IT
1:44:44 - WHAT’S INSIDE DAVE’S MIND WHILE PLAYING
1:47:47 - THE COVER OF MODERN DRUMMER, WATCHES

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

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