'Prog' means progress

JAZZ

The Bad Plus

The last of the Bad Plus’s three albums for Columbia, 2005’s ‘‘Suspicious Activity?,’’ was a bummer. Only one of the 10 tunes was a cover, even though the jazz trio has become infamous for its whacked-out versions of rock songs. The Bad Plus has now left Columbia and started its own label, on which it has released its fantastic new record, ‘‘Prog.’’ The plot is unchanged: Pianist Ethan Iverson blends neoclassical with avant garde, drummer David King bangs with a rock attitude, and bassist Reid Anderson keeps it all anchored. There are four covers — a restrained take on Tears for Fears’ ‘‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’’ a free-jazz interpretation of David Bowie’s ‘‘Life on Mars,’’ a faithful (perhaps too-faithful) cover of Rush’s ‘‘Tom Sawyer,’’ and a wry-but-not-cynical version of the schmaltzy Bacharach/David hit ‘‘This Guy’s in Love With You.’’ Then there are the juicy originals. The nine-minute epic ‘‘Physical Cities’’ is a self-consciously bombastic commentary on progressive rock (with a hilariously pompous bridge). Top it off with a gorgeous nine-minute ballad in 9/8 whose theme recalls ‘‘Chariots of Fire,’’ which, come to think of it, the band likes to play in concert. The Bad Plus’s new album positively rocks. [Steve Greenlee]