BADBADNOTGOOD is a trio of musicians made up of Matthew Tavares on keys, Chester Hansen on bass, and Alex Sowinski on drums. Since their inception at Humber College’s Music Performance program in 2011, the three have challenged the rule book on improvised instrumental music and taken jazz tradition into the future.
With early champions including acclaimed BBC broadcaster Gilles Peterson and Tyler The Creator (who helped fuel their discovery with a series of live jams that instantly went viral and dubbed them the “Odd Trio”), the band released their first EP BBNG in June 2011 to wide praise. The marriage of jazz virtuosity and hip hop source material offered a fresh take on the traditional “standard” applied to hip hop classics by taking on choice cuts from the golden era rap cannon and writing inspired arrangements for them instead of onedimensional covers.
Following the success of BBNGII (2012), this album is their first of entirely original compositions, expanding on their previous shoot-from-the-hip recording approach to create rich textures and spacious arrangements.
“Their third album comprises nine complex and nuanced, genre-defying escapades – a series of varied and elaborate aural tapestries that strike the right balance of mood and melody, whether it’s subtly menacing (‘Can’t Leave The Night’) or sensual and sexy (‘Confessions’).” - Clash