The Bad Plus trio came to town this week celebrating not only the holidays, but the 20th anniversary of their first gig, which took place at the end of 1999, at the Dakota jazz club’s former St. Paul location in Bandana Square.
The band is also celebrating the release of its new CD “Activate Infinity,” their second album since pianist-composer Orrin Evans joined the group at the beginning of 2018. The 44-year-old Evans has been a prolific composer and bandleader in his own right, releasing 26 albums as a leader since 1995.
On Thursday evening, the second night of their annual four-night holiday residency at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis, the early set featured several pieces from the new recording, along with a few originals from previous Bad Plus releases.
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