(Duke Music)
10.0
A single note followed by a strange chord progression of lone acoustic piano and ambient sound blankets the ear and begins the March 26th performance of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Firmly refusing to be decisively stride or classical, the solo piano and haunting images opening the performance are as much an exercise in installation art as they are the musical equivalent of a post-modernist feat; the visual and aural appointments of the performance left to reside in the annals of unpredictability as innovative trio, The Bad Plus perform Stravinsky’s seminal composition. Their interpretation of “The Rite of Spring” retains the same cryptic tone as the original, but infuses the piece with a slight undercurrent of Electronica that Stravinsky could only have dreamed of getting his hands on in the midst of pioneering what became a new era in musical composition and performance shortly after the turn of the last century.
To imagine The Bad Plus’ translation of the work is to take away the salon culture that pervaded during his time and imagine Stravinsky with even fewer cultural strictures, an endless supply of acoustic and electronic tools with which to perform, and an equally profound amount of balls. With that in mind, it is imperative to consider that at its debut, “The Rite of Spring” was literally riot music, as spectators erupted violently in response to the frantic and maddening nature of the dance choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. Here, The Bad Plus have created a piece as whimsical as it is tormented and true enough to the aesthetic set forth by both composer and choreographer to suggest that the original piece was an effort in cooperative influence, as this performance sounds as much influenced by the sudden forceful bodily movements of the dancers as by the foreboding and bright musical arrangement Stravinsky offered.
The percussive knock that the piano clang adds to the spastic ballet at the point that the traditionally sedate yet crazed looking dancers begin to stomp and flail in unison is definitely a modern addition, but it does not feel far fetched within the confines of the music Stravinsky authors – movements that are as solid individually as they in their completed collective form. Interestingly enough, even armed with a traditional orchestral performance of the piece exactly as it was written and performed, none of the innovations in modern rock and pop that pervade today seem like such a far cry from what Stravinsky himself was trying to do; crafting a sound that would force every aspect of music to change, from composition, to performance and consumption. Effects on the bassline add immense amounts of density to the vigorous right hand of pianist Ethan Iverson, as he maneuvers through Stravinsky’s piece almost as flowery as he is frantic; the music giving a serious nod to the jazz tradition of playing out as the crescendo builds before the sudden and much more serene marriage of acoustic bass and piano trill floats casually to the fore and envelopes the performance in the same way that an orchestra’s fever pitch punctuates a concert hall with the sonic anchor of timpani and brass.
The most glaring difference in the case of this particular arrangement is that the group performing is comprised of only three musicians and they are not playing the most traditional interpretation of this piece. That is unless, of course, the argument is unconcerned with Igor Stravinsky and more invested in the idea that what you are hearing is a performance that is absolutely in line with the preceding tradition of The Bad Plus. Iverson, along with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King, has managed to preserve the integrity of Stravinsky’s original work without sacrificing their own musical ethos to the potentially intimidating circumstance of standing in the looming shadow of what may be the premiere piece of classical music informing every modern musical tradition concerned with bending or altogether breaking established rules. No strangers to the act of habitual line blurring, The Bad Plus has covered everything from Ornette Coleman to Black Sabbath, Nirvana, and Neil Young. Despite the idea that Classical music has not been as prominent on their radar, The Bad Plus have explored Stravinsky’s material before, covering “Apollo” and touching on the works of other classical composers at fits and starts over their career as a collective.
In the case of this performance, however, the goal was nothing close to that of a traditional cover, as The Bad Plus creates a very dramatic and visually appealing soundscape that is done with the utmost reverence for the original composer and even more for their own aesthetic as musical innovators; this performance is not the first and will not be the last, but what you are hearing in this recording is decidedly their song. For a group generally classified as a collection of jazz musicians, it is interesting to note how consistent they are with the oft-ignored tradition of jazz, as a genre of music historically concerned with stepping outside of the box, if not outright encouraging musicians rising in one tradition to borrow from the many established in order to create their own. Were anyone unsure of exactly how to do so, The Bad Plus has offered their career and catalog as a living clinic. Their performance of “The Rite of Spring” is just the latest installation in what has become a tradition of stirring renegade performance. In this case, what you end up with might be something along the lines of Thelonius Monk meets “Fantasia” at an open jam hosted by Interpol. The group descends from a perch of dissonant chords to reclaim the creative spirit that seems altogether from many popular forms of music and alien to musicians beholden to the comforting embrace of familiarity. With this performance, The Bad Plus has not only stepped outside of the box, but also burned it down. If nothing else, The Bad Plus is bad – bad in this case meaning exceptionally good.
To listen to the entire recording, head over to WBGO’s The Checkout here.
Words by Karas Lamb
