Buffalo Collision

Tim Berne, alto saxophone
Ethan Iverson, piano
Hank Roberts, cello
Dave King, drums

“Two thirds of The Bad Plus step up to the challenge of playing with their heroes Tim Berne and Hank Roberts” – Jez Nelson, BBC Radio

Buffalo Collision is a new band that sees Ethan Iverson and Dave King of The Bad Plus pair up with New York downtown improvising legends Tim Berne and Hank Roberts to create one of the most exciting improvising outfits around today. This band is an inspired meeting of two generations of improvisers. Ethan Iverson and Dave King are two thirds of jazz’s most recent success story, The Bad Plus while Tim Berne and Hank Roberts made their name at the high point of the downtown scene some twenty years earlier. This “collision” is a busy and hypnotic band, shaking hands across a generation.

With The Bad Plus, Iverson and King have smashed any preconceived ideas of what an acoustic jazz trio ought to be. With jazzmen’s ability to improvise, a classical way with melody, and the elephantine touch of rockers, they have become one of the biggest crossover acts in jazz. Their releases from These Are the Vistas through Suspicious Activity? and Prog are among the most exciting in modern jazz. The Bad Plus released For All I Care in February featuring singer Wendy Lewis.

Saxophonist Tim Berne is one of the most singular and important players in contemporary jazz. He is a cornerstone of the New York downtown scene coming to prominence with the band Miniature with Joey Baron and Hank Roberts. He would go onto found the legendary Bloodcount with Chris Speed, Jim Black and Michael Formanek.

Cellist Hank Roberts is a long-time Berne collaborator. Over the years he has recorded with Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Mark Feldman, Marilyn Crispell, Mark Dresser, Joey Baron amongst others.

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