The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

David King. Drums.
Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Aperture Priority. 1/30 sec. @ f/2.5. ISO 1100.

Reid Anderson. Bass.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 112mm.
Program Exposure. 1/10 sec. @ f/5.3. ISO 1600.

The Bad Plus @ The Tractor Tavern.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 18mm.
Program Exposure. 1/8 sec. @ f/3.5. ISO 1600.

David King using a toy drum during a cover of Aphex Twin’s “Flim.”
Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Aperture Priority. 1/30 sec. @ f/2.8. ISO 1600.

Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 200mm.

Program Exposure. 1/6 sec. @ f/5.6. ISO 1600.

Ethan Iverson. Piano.
Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Aperture Priority. 1/30 sec. @ f/2.5. ISO 1600.

Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Program Exposure. 1/30 sec. @ f/1.8. ISO 1600.

Nikon D300. Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Aperture Priority. 1/15 sec. @ f/2.8. ISO 1600.

The Bad Plus played at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard on May 22, 2008. The show was originally supposed to take place at the legendary and now defunct Crocodile Cafe.

This was by far the rowdiest jazz concert I have attended—and that’s saying quite a bit because I’ve been to a number of performances with Andy Szumowski. Several guys standing behind Sharat and me were yelling out song suggestions at every pause. It reminded me of an evening with Andy at the Jazz Standard in New York City back in September 2005. Russell Malone was playing a mean set, and Andy was pounding Jameson and 7-Up (his preferred drink at the time). Every note or lick the band played that agreed with Andy’s inebriated sense of musical taste was complimented with a raucous “YEAH!” or “COME ON, NOW!” By the time Russell came out for an encore, Andy was in full force and without provocation yelled “HENDRIX!” Russell turned, looked at him, shook his head and said into the microphone, “how about you stop drinking? Ha!” In his khaki shorts and stained white t-shirt, the enthusiastic Andy Szumowski had certainly succeeded in becoming the focal point of the performance—not bad considering he wasn’t even in the band.

Now had Andy and I been at the Tractor, nobody would have shot him dirty looks or even noticed his severely intoxicated screaming. This crowd wanted “amazing” and was not afraid to demand it. Of course The Bad Plus delivered, and the crowd let them hear their appreciation. The stellar jazz performances I’ve witnessed over the years are too numerous to count (Branford Marsalis performing A Love Supreme outdoors, Ravi Coltrane at Iridium playing “Giant Steps,” Brad Mehldau covering Radiohead in Chicago, former Miles Davis’ sax player Kenny Garrett in downtown Flint, Medeski Martin & Wood jamming to “Brigas, Nuncas Mais” in Ann Arbor—just to name a few); but not since I saw D.D. Jackson at the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival in 2002 had I witnessed a crowd interact so viscerally with jazz musicians. The fact the The Bad Plus came out for THREE encores underscores this connection. It was obvious they really did enjoy playing for us.

I made all shots with my Nikon D300 camera. I tried to not disturb my fellow patrons so I elected not to use a flash. All are with a picture control setting of Neutral, some with +3 saturation and others with only +1 or no extra saturation. The black and white image of David King is a conversion done in PhotoShop using the Calculations feature. The two-tone image of Reid Anderson was created in PhotoShop using Threshold.