Born: October 15, 1970 Primary Instrument: Bass
Reid Anderson is a bassist and composer originally from Minnesota. Anderson is best known for his work in The Bad Plus with pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King. In 1998, Anderson and his trio (consisting of Iverson, Jorge Rossy, and Mark Turner) released the album Dirty Show Tunes to widespread critical and popular acclaim from the jazz community. A second album, Abolish Bad Architecture, was released a year later with Jeff Ballard replacing Rossy on drums. This album generated even more attention, and Ballard and Turner would eventually continue to create Fly, their own successful trio alongside The Bad Plus.
In 2000, Anderson and a brand new group featuring Andrew D'Angelo, Bill McHenry, Ben Monder, and Marlon Browden released the album The Vastness of Space. This album was a departure from Anderson's earlier efforts in that it focused more on composition and less on improvisation. The album's simple, melodic tunes begin to foreshadow the genre-bending that would drive the underlying philosophy of The Bad Plus. Indeed, two tunes off The Vastness of Space would eventually become Bad Plus favorites: “Prehensile Dream” and “Silence Is the Question.”
The musicians of The Bad Plus have played together since 1989; however, in 2003 Columbia Records released their major label debut These Are the Vistas, and the band has been gaining momentum ever since.
