Badbadnotgood : A Night of Magic Music
Toronto based band Badbadnotgood jazzed the San Francisco crowd under the chandelier lights at The Fillmore theater. The spellbinding performance showcased blue notes, oboes, hip hop beats, and four musical men driving the diverse crowd.
The entire performance showcased an exclusive future-jazz sound that Badbadnotgood has been modeling since 2010 at Humber College jazz program. Matt Tavares (keyboard and synthesizer), Leland Whitty (saxophone), Chester Hansen (bass guitar), and Alexander Sowinski (drums) all had an attraction to hip hop music. After all, hip hop beats stem from the roots of classical jazz. The millennium exposed these kids to hip hop music and gave them a chance to re-style their jazz music. By creating a combination of genres and personal style, the young jazz trio broke the boundaries of traditional music. Their grasp of artistic and theoretical music allows them to appeal to a much greater audience, as shown by the old, young, sad, classy and trashy guests packing the concert hall.
In this hall, “time moved slow”, just as their song commands. Alexander Sowinski, the drummer and lead man of the band gives all the commentary in between songs. Sowinski certainly does not play in double-time swing, but he does create lovely and provocative drum solos in various Badbadnotgood songs. The rest of the band hardly uses their microphones, though they do take long solos often. The passion is in their music and their freedom to break the rules. It’s the feeling that comes from Whitty’s saxophone in “Confessions”, the starry keys played by Tavares. “Sometimes what you learn in school is so focused on perfection,” Tavares explains,“You kind of just need to step back, experiment and fuck up. Let yourself be free, find your own sound and style. Jazz musicians back in the day didn’t go to school. They just experimented and wrote songs and played in bands and hustled. They built their own creativity and let themselves like explore that way.” Not once did a single band member bring up their highly reputable musical work with Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean, or Wu-Tang Clan MC Ghostface Killah. The boys’ modesty is attractive in contrast to their notable musicianship.
The Fillmore filled up with music-lovers from wall to wall, a tight squeeze for even the skinniest bee. Thankfully, sound travels to the sides, leaving the room full with frequencies to balance the crowd's moods and minds. It’s an honor to hear the lifting spirit of Badbadnotgood’s atmospheric ballads live in San Francisco. The Fillmore also gives free posters, a bonus perk for a great show. As young as the band is, more exclusive work is expected to come.
