Reid Anderson

Who is Reid Anderson?

Reid Anderson is a bassist and composer originally from Minnesota. Anderson is best known for his work in The Bad Plus with pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King. The Bad Plus have played together since 1989; and, in 2003 Columbia Records released their major label debut These Are the Vistas.

In 1998, Anderson and his quartet released the album Dirty Show Tunes to widespread critical and popular acclaim from the jazz community. A second album, Abolish Bad Architecture, was released a year later with Jeff Ballard replacing Rossy on drums.

In 2000, Anderson and a brand new group featuring Andrew D'Angelo, Bill McHenry, Ben Monder, and Marlon Browden released the album The Vastness of Space. This album was a departure from Anderson's earlier efforts in that it focused more on composition and less on improvisation. The album's simple, melodic tunes begin to foreshadow the genre-bending that would drive the underlying philosophy of The Bad Plus. Indeed, two tunes off The Vastness of Space would eventually become Bad Plus favorites: "Prehensile Dream" and "Silence Is the Question."

Anderson attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and later graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music.