The Bad Plus’ tenth studio recording (and first collection of original material since 2012’s Made Possible), Inevitable Western continues the leaderless trio’s committed belief in what they’ve dubbed ‘avant-garde populism’ – the idea that serious music can be as engaging and accessible as it is forward-thinking and provocative.

The album sees the group exploring the same set of aesthetic principles that fired their inception, a rigorous exploration of myriad musical forms born of jazz but advanced using any sonic source material that forwards their own indefinable thing. That primary spark continues to burn on tracks like Anderson’s lyrical “Do It Again” or the post rock twists and turns of King’s “Gold Prisms Incorporated.” The Iverson composition which gives Inevitable Western its title, evokes a wide-open milieu redolent of Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas and the American west of Richard Avedon. Rich with humor and mystery, Inevitable Western is The Bad Plus at their best, affirming them as one of the most audacious and imaginative musical collectives of this or any other era.