Slow Reactors – A new electronic project from Reid Anderson (The Bad Plus)

Reid Anderson’s work as a composer and bass player has helped to define the sound of The Bad Plus since its inception in 2001. Widely considered one of the most significant groups of their time, The Bad Plus has amassed widespread acclaim and created an uncompromising body of work that spans 15 studio albums and countless live performances.

The Bad Plus are widely considered to be one of the most significant groups of their time and Anderson’s prolific work as a composer has defined their sound throughout the years.

His new band with Tina Priceman (Violin) and Gregg Belisle-Chi (Guitar) is based on his long time passion for electronic music. Using analog synths and drum machines Anderson explores the compositional and interactive possibilities of electronic music with live musicians.

Born in Minneapolis in 1970, Anderson began playing the acoustic bass at the age of 18. He was accepted into Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music one year after picking up the instrument and graduated in 1993. He moved to New York to pursue a career in jazz and has since performed and recorded with some of the most prominent musicians of his generation, including: Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, Mark Turner, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Anderson began to focus heavily on composition in New York and released three critically acclaimed albums of original music for the Spanish label, Fresh Sound New Talent, between 1997 and 2000. Two of these albums were on the New York Times’ Top 10 List for their respective years.

Anderson’s career has a number of standout moments, including a 2011 commission from Duke University and Lincoln Center for The Bad Plus to arrange and perform Stravinski’s, “The Rite of Spring.” They have also composed for dance – writing and performing “Violet Cavern” for the Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2013 Anderson premiered his first evening length composition, “The Rough Mixes.” This work for 2 violins, cello, drum set, electronics, and video was performed as part of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series. In 2020 he composed the music for the New York Times Podcast, “Nice White Parents.”

Along with his work in The Bad Plus, Anderson is a member of the ensemble Broken Shadows – which explores the music of Ornette Coleman, Julius Hemphill, Dewey Redman, and Charlie Haden – and the instrumental synth band, Golden Valley Is Now. Both of these groups released albums in 2019.