Article Contributed by Big Hassle Media
Published on January 12, 2026
Reid Anderson and Dave King | Photo credit: Evelyn Freja
The Bad Plus have spent their groundbreaking lifespan reimagining music in their own boldly original style, always challenging convention while propelling jazz in boundary-breaking new directions. Now, after more than a quarter century and three unique iterations, founding bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King have decided to call an end to The Bad Plus’s one-of-a-kind career.
“The Bad Plus has been a band for 26 years,” says Reid Anderson and Dave King. “That’s quite a long time! As we enter into year 27 – after a great deal of soul searching and consideration – we have decided to bring this chapter to a close. 2026 will be the final year of The Bad Plus. We share this news with heavy hearts, but also with great pride in what we have accomplished. It has been a privilege to share our music with the world and we leave behind a body of work that we could not be more proud of.
“We look forward to performing our final shows throughout the coming year and hope to see as many of you as possible. This band changed our lives. Thank you all for being a part of that.”
WATCH THE BAD PLUS VIDEO STATEMENT ON INSTAGRAM
In typical fashion, The Bad Plus will wrap things up with two utterly distinct tour schedules. First off, the group’s current lineup – which see Anderson and King joined by Ben Monder (guitars) and Chris Speed (saxophones) – will perform a number of North American live dates, including a multi-night residency at St. Louis, MO’s Jazz St. Louis (January 14-18), a one-off headline show as part of the “Left Field Series” at Columbia, MO’s The Blue Note (January 21), and a performance at Montréal, QC’s Théâtre Jean-Duceppe for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (June 26). More dates will be announced soon.
Anderson and King will also join forces with pianist Craig Taborn and saxophonist Chris Potter for a special project paying homage to the music of Keith Jarrett’s legendary American Quartet. The Bad Plus Chris Potter and Craig Taborn will revisit this formative repertoire with deep reverence and fresh vision, capturing Jarrett, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian’s groundbreaking fusion of swing, freedom, and folk-like melodicism while bringing their own distinct voices to the material. This special project is more than simply a tribute – it is a continuation of the raw, exploratory spirit that the American Quartet embodied: a fearless commitment to musical dialogue, emotional depth, and boundary-pushing improvisation. North American dates begin March 3 at Lexington, KY’s Singletary Center for the Arts; EU/UK dates then get underway March 21 at Bergamo, IT’s Bergamo Jazz Festival. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit www.thebadplus.com/tour.
THE BAD PLUS – TOUR 2026
JANUARY
14 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis
15 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis
16 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis (Early Show)
16 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis (Late Show)
17 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis (Early Show)
17 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis (Late Show)
18 – St. Louis, MO – Jazz St. Louis
21 – Columbia, MO – The Blue Note
JUNE
26 – Montréal, QC – Montréal Jazz Festival at Théâtre Jean-Duceppe
More Dates To Be Announced Soon
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THE BAD PLUS CHRIS POTTER AND CRAIG TABORN –
TRIBUTE TO KEITH JARRETT’S AMERICAN QUARTET
TOUR 2026
MARCH
3 – Lexington, KY – Singletary Concert Hall
5 – Toronto, ON – Meridian Arts Centre: George Weston Recital Hall
6 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
7 – Oakland, CA – Yoshi’s
8 – Oakland, CA – Yoshi’s
10 – Los Angeles, CA – Blue Note LA (Early Show)
10 – Los Angeles, CA – Blue Note LA (Late Show)
11 – Los Angeles, CA – Blue Note LA (Early Show)
11 – Los Angeles, CA – Blue Note LA (Late Show)
12 – La Jolla, CA – The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
13 – Santa Fe, NM – The Lensic Performing Arts Center
21 – Bergamo, IT – Bergamo Jazz Festival at Auditorium Parco della Musica: Sala Sinopoli
23 – Roma, IT – Auditorium Parco della Musica
25 – Gdansk, PL – Jazzjantar
27 – Madrid, ES – Auditorio Nacional de Musica
28 – Paris, FR – Maison de la Radio et de la Musique – Studio 104
29 – Monheim am Rhein, DE – Aula am Berliner Ring
30 – London, UK – Barbican
APRIL
1 – Budapest, HU – Bartók Spring International Art Weeks @ RaM-ArT Színház
3 – Leuven, BE – 30CC Leuven
4 – Heidelberg, DE – Enjoy Jazz @ Kulturhaus Karlstorbahnhof
5 – Stuttgart, DE – Theaterhaus Jazztage
7 – Barcelona, ES – L’Auditori
8 – Cenon, FR – Le Rocher de Palmer
9 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg
10 – Amsterdam, NL – Muziekgebouw
11 – Cully, CH – Cully Jazz Festival
