MEDIA CONTACTS: Big Hassle / Ken Weinstein / weinstein@bighassle.com / 212-619-1360 Sony Music Masterworks / Angela Barkan / Larissa Slezak angela.barkan@sonymusic.com, Larissa.slezak@sonymusic.com \ 212-833-8575 / 6075

THEBADPLUSRETURNTOTHEIRROOTSONIT’SHARDAvailableAugust26th

Piano-Bass-DrumsTrioAnnounceNewAlbum

FeaturingIconicCoversofSongsMadeFamousByPrince,YeahYeahYeahs,PeterGabriel,TVOnTheRadio,Kraftwerk,OrnetteColeman,andMore

InternationalLiveScheduleIncludesHeadlineDatesand

FestivalSetsAlongsideJoshuaRedman

NYC’sFamedBlueNoteToHostSixNightStand,SetForAugust9th-14th

CompletePerformanceofOrnetteColeman’sSCIENCEFICTION

ToHeadlineChicagoJazzFestivalOnSeptember3rd

NewYork,NY –OKehRecords/SonyMusicMasterworkshas announced the release of the eagerly awaited newalbumbyTheBadPlus.IT’SHARDarrivesinstoresandatallleadingdigitalretailersonAugust26th.TheBadPlus’eleventhstudiorecordingIT’SHARDseestheleaderless trio – bassist Reid Anderson, pianist EthanIverson, and drummer David King – returning to thedistinctive deconstruction of pop forms that drew theirfirst international attention almost two decades ago.RecordedthispastAprilatNYC’sBrooklynRecordingwithlongtime engineer Pete Rende (Joshua Redman, BillMcHenry),thealbumspansbotheraandinspirationasTheBadPlusoffernewperspectivesonclassicsongsfromthe

1970stothe2010s.While the fourmost recentBadPlusalbumshave focusedonpredominantlyoriginalmaterial, IT’SHARD showcases the leaderless trio’s inimitable gift for intrepid and audacious interpretation. Alyrical takeonCrowdedHouse’s “Don’tDream It’sOver” stands alongside themotorik futurismofKraftwerk’s“TheRobots”andthepost-millennialindiecreativityoftheYeahYeahYeahs’“Maps”andTVOnTheRadio’s“StaringAtTheSun,”alteringpop,progrock,country,psychedelia,andmoreviaanunmatchedgift forwit,harmonic innovationandrhythmicbrilliance.TheirexpressivereadingofPrince’s“TheBeautifulOnes”–coincidentallyrecordedamonthbeforethelegend’suntimelydeath–isapotenttributetoafigurethatloomedlargeinthelivesofthesefellowMinnesotanmusicians.“Afterseveralyearsoffocusing largelyonoriginalmusic,”saysDaveKing,“wethought itwouldbecreatively challenging to return to arrangingmusic that’s not ours.We chose the songs together,

arranged them togetherandgot in thegarageandplayed them together. It’s adistinctlydifferentprocessthananythingelsewedo,andwefeelthatwedoituniquelyenoughtotakeanotherstabatitafter13albumsand16yearstogether.”IT’S HARD also features new renditions of such pieces as Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time”(interpretedin1985byMilesDavis),BillMcHenry’s“AlfombraMágica”(firstrecordedin2002bytheBill McHenry Quartet Featuring Paul Motian and bassist Reid Anderson), and Ornette Coleman’smilestone“BrokenShadows.”“There’s no precise algorithmas towhatworks or not,” says Ethan Iverson. “The songmust havemeaningandourtakemusthaveaclearrelationshiptotheoriginalversion.OurconceptislesslikeMilesDavis’‘justplaythetunelikejazz’approachthanthatofAhmadJamal,EllingtonorMonk,allofwhomchosecoverswithdramaand theatre inmind. Ironicallyoneofournewcovers, ‘TimeAfterTime,’ is associatedwithMiles – and our versions couldn’t bemore different!We didn’t just addsomejazztorock;thesongsonIT’SHARDareamplifiedinspecificwaysuniquetothematerialandtheband.”“We’vealwaysmadeitapointinourmusictocutawideswath,bothstylisticallyandemotionally,”saysReidAnderson,“andthesongson IT’SHARDareareflectionofthatprincipal.Eachsong isanopportunity to try something unique, and every arrangement and performance represent thecombinedperspectiveofthreeverydifferentpersonalities–whichistheessencetothesoundofTheBadPlus.”TheBadPlushasspentnearlytwodecadesexpandingtheparametersofwhatisexpectedofapiano-bass-drumstrio.Thegenre-smashingbandhascraftedarepertoireofinnovativeoriginalmusic,alongwithadaring seriesof iconoclastic covers spanningsuchdiverseartistsasNirvanaandNeilYoung,AphexTwinandOrnetteColeman.Nomatterthematerial,TheBadPluscontinuetominetheverysameaestheticprinciples that inspired their inception,exploringmyriadmusical forms throughtheunparalleledinterpretivepowerofjazz.IT’S HARD was produced by The Bad Plus between April 12th-14th, 2016 at Brooklyn Recording inBrooklyn,NewYorkalongsideengineer/mixerPeteRende.Known for theirhard touring schedule,TheBadPlushas slatedanarrayofU.S. andEuropean livedates through September (see here). Highlights include a series of summer festivals with JoshuaRedman;aColoradoMusicFestivalperformanceofthetrio’sacclaimeddeconstructionofStravinsky’sTheRiteofSpring(July12th);asix-night-standatNewYorkCity’sfamedBlueNote(August9th-14th);apair of rare Ukrainian concerts (August 28th and 30th); and a full-length performance of OrnetteColeman’sSCIENCEFICTION,joinedbyTimBerne,RonMiles,andSamNewsome,attheChicagoJazzFestivalonSaturday,September3rd.Additionaldateswillbeannounced–forcompletedetailsandticketinformation,pleasevisitwww.thebadplus.com/tour-dates.php.

*****Formoreinformation,pleaseseewww.thebadplus.com.Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.okeh-records.com.

THEBADPLUSIT’SHARD(OKeh/SonyMusicEntertainment)ReleaseDate:August26th,2016

1. Maps(KarenLeeOrzolek,BrianChase,NickZinner)2. GamesWithoutFrontiers(PeterGabriel)3. TimeAfterTime(CyndiLauper,RobHyman)4. IWalkTheLine(JohnnyCash)5. AlfombraMagica(BillMcHenry)6. TheBeautifulOnes(Prince)7. Don’tDreamIt’sOver(NeilFinn)8. StaringAtTheSun(TundeAdebimpe,DavidSitek)9. Mandy(RichardKerr,ScottEnglish)10. TheRobots(RalfHutter,FlorianSchneider,KarlBartos)11. BrokenShadows(OrnetteColeman)

ProducedbyTheBadPlusRecordedbyPeteRendeatBrooklynRecording,Brooklyn,NY,April12th-14th,2016

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THEBADPLUSTOUR2016JULY8 Pittsburgh,PA SouthParkAmphitheater9 Austin,TX BatesConcertHall12 Boulder,CO ColoradoMusicFestival*13 Denver,CO Dazzle14 Denver,CO Dazzle30 Newport,RI NewportJazzFestival@AUGUST9 NewYork,NY BlueNote10 NewYork,NY BlueNote11 NewYork,NY BlueNote12 NewYork,NY BlueNote13 NewYork,NY BlueNote14 NewYork,NY BlueNoteSEPTEMBER3 Chicago,IL ChicagoJazzFestival#17 Monterey,CA MontereyJazzFestival@

*ColoradoMusicFestivalMash-Up:TheRiteofSpringDeconstructed@w/JoshuaRedman#TheBadPlusPerformOrnetteColeman’sSCIENCEFICTIONw/TimBerne,RonMiles&SamNewsomeAdditionalDatesToBeAnnounced-www.thebadplus.com/tour-dates.php