The Bad Plus, Give

The Bad Plus introduced themselves to the world in fine style with their 2003 major-label debut, These Are the Vistas, which melded experimental jazz and the heavy thump of rock and roll. Smushed together by a Midwest piano trio, it all somehow sounds… great. Their new release, Give, should offer plenty for fans to chew over, from a cover of Ornette Coleman’s “Street Woman” to a version of the Pixies’ “Velouria” which ended up sounding… good. Yes, fans, with enough thought from the right people, rote pop production values and jazz spontaneity can perform meiosis.