In 2002 Ethan Iverson helped form The Bad Plus, a revolutionary and wildly successful avant-garde trio that The New York Times said was “Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.” Since leaving TBP, Iverson has released critically-acclaimed jazz albums on ECM and Blue Note, often accompanied by bonafide jazz stars such as Tom Harrell or Jack DeJohnette. Downbeat has called Iverson “A master of melody” while Hot House recently raved, “Known for his intellectual depth and adventurous musical spirit, Ethan Iverson has traversed the boundaries of jazz tradition while leaving an indelible mark on its evolution.” After witnessing a 2024 concert of jazz standards spontaneously chosen by the audience, Stereophile wrote, “Iverson is a natural, consistent crowd-pleaser. For his entire career, he has been finding ways to be accessible while pushing the envelope.”
Iverson also has a long-standing relationship with choreographer Mark Morris, and within the last decade has created the scores to three recent Morris successes, Pepperland, The Look of Love, and You’ve Got to Be Modernistic. In terms of performing classical music, Iverson has accompanied Mark Padmore in Schubert’s Winterreise and Johnny Gandelsman in the three Brahms Violin Sonatas. On top of his activities as a pianist and composer, Iverson has an active career as a writer, publishing significant criticism in The Nation, JazzTimes, The New York Times, and the Culture Desk of The New Yorker.