KWXY Presents ● The Music of BBNG
BBNG - BADBADNOTGOOD - badbadnotgood.com
BADBADNOTGOOD is an instrumental jazz and post-bop band from Canada. Their musical style combines the free-form musicianship of jazz and hip-hop production. The group was founded in 2010 by college students Chester Hansen, Matthew Tavares and Alexander Sowinski. Keyboardist Tavares left the group in 2019 and was replaced by woodwind and string musician, Leland Whitty who was previously a collaborator. BBNG took its name from an abandoned television project on which Tavares had been working.
The four met in 2010 while attending the jazz program at Humber College in Toronto, Ontario. By 2012, both Hansen and Tavares had dropped out to pursue their careers and Sowinski followed soon after.
In June 2011, BBNG released their first EP to the Bandcamp online musical platform. Titled BBNG – which would later be the title of their debut album – the EP featured covers of songs from artists such as hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest and American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. BBNG released their aforementioned debut album on Bandcamp in September 2011 as a free digital download. It featured original tracks as well as covers and even featured a cover of a medley of songs from the 1998 Nintendo videogame, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. BBNG performed their first live show that same month in Toronto, coming to the attention of hip-hop producer and future collaborator, Frank Dukes.
Two more critically acclaimed self-released records followed: BBNGLIVE1 in 2011 and BBNGLIVE2 in 2012. BBNG2, their second album, was released in April 2012 and featured future bandmember Leland Whitty on saxophone.
BBNG’s third album, III, was released in 2014 and marked their first album of all original material. The nine-track album marked the return of Matthew Tavares as a collaborator and was nominated for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.
Their fourth album, 2015’s Sour Soul in collaboration with rapper Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan, was followed by a tour between April and October. Their fifth album, IV, featured additional jazz and hip-hop collaborations and was chosen by BBC Radio 6 as the #1 Album of the Year. It too was followed by an extensive tour in support of the album.
BBNG announced the upcoming release of the instrumental album Talk Memory on social media in July 2021 on the approximate fifth anniversary of IV. Released in October, the album received some of their highest critical praise to date and peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
One of the band’s earliest appearances was as the band-in-residence at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. BBNG will be returning for this year’s 2022 event on April 15th and 22nd.
KWXY Music Radio supports musicians and artists performing in the Coachella Valley, as well as independent music labels, and emerging talent all over the country.
Listen to the music of BADBADNOTGOOD – BBNG on KWXY Presents hosted by Louie Comella, tonight at 7pm on KWXY Music Radio 92.3 FM ● 1340 AM ● streaming at kwxy.com