Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch dave King perform with The Bad Plus live at SFJAZZ: sfjazz.org/athome/on-demand/the-bad-plus
Love these videos? Support by becoming an SFJAZZ Member: sfjazz.org/join
In My Mind explores the creative process of jazz’s most accomplished improvising musicians, using their words and artistry to illuminate the methods behind their spontaneous inventions.
Dave King
Enter the mind of drummer and composer Dave King, best known as a founding member of the groundbreaking jazz ensemble The Bad Plus. He expresses the challenge he feels with the concept of the performing artist as the center of attention, his approach to improvisation within the limitations of individual technique, finding his own signature sound, and the idea of musicianship as an evolving search rather than a quest for perfection.
A Minneapolis native, Dave King is among the most versatile and prolific drummers in jazz. He’s a founding member and principal composer of The Bad Plus, with whom he has recorded 18 albums since the turn of the 21st century including their latest, 2024’s “Complex Emotions.”
Additionally, King is a founding member of the bands Happy Apple, Dave King Trucking Company, and Halloween, Alaska, and his work as a sideman includes recordings and performances with Julian Lage, Craig Taborn, Chris Speed, and Bill Carrothers. He’s released a pair of albums under his own name and produced a popular comedic music education series for YouTube called “Rational Funk.”
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
Watch dave King perform with The Bad Plus live at SFJAZZ: sfjazz.org/athome/on-demand/the-bad-plus
Love these videos? Support by becoming an SFJAZZ Member: sfjazz.org/join
In My Mind explores the creative process of jazz’s most accomplished improvising musicians, using their words and artistry to illuminate the methods behind their spontaneous inventions.
Dave King
Enter the mind of drummer and composer Dave King, best known as a founding member of the groundbreaking jazz ensemble The Bad Plus. He expresses the challenge he feels with the concept of the performing artist as the center of attention, his approach to improvisation within the limitations of individual technique, finding his own signature sound, and the idea of musicianship as an evolving search rather than a quest for perfection.
A Minneapolis native, Dave King is among the most versatile and prolific drummers in jazz. He’s a founding member and principal composer of The Bad Plus, with whom he has recorded 18 albums since the turn of the 21st century including their latest, 2024’s “Complex Emotions.”
Additionally, King is a founding member of the bands Happy Apple, Dave King Trucking Company, and Halloween, Alaska, and his work as a sideman includes recordings and performances with Julian Lage, Craig Taborn, Chris Speed, and Bill Carrothers. He’s released a pair of albums under his own name and produced a popular comedic music education series for YouTube called “Rational Funk.”
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
