By Paul Robicheau

In Groton, the veteran ensemble leans into mood and understatement as its final touring year begins.

Reid Anderson, Chris Speed and Dave King of The Bad Plus in Meadow Hall at Groton Hill. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Hard to believe that it’s been 27 years since bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King co-founded The Bad Plus. Originally a piano trio with Ethan Iverson (and then briefly Orrin Evans), the group was like Minneapolis’ arch, acoustic answer to Medeski, Martin & Wood. Known at first for genre-mixing covers—from Nirvana to Aphex Twin to Rush—more than for its own spiky originals, The Bad Plus shifted that focus before the rhythm section shook things up in 2021 by becoming a quartet with saxophonist Chris Speed and guitarist Ben Monder for its last two albums.

Now The Bad Plus has announced that 2026 will be its final year of touring, the group deciding to disband since, as Anderson put it, “We said what we set out to say.” That made Thursday’s concert in the Groton Hill Music Center’s smaller, 300-seat Meadow Hall a little bittersweet, reflected in a lower-key energy than in the group’s earlier days. The Bad Plus always had a droll edge, and Anderson piped that “corporate headquarters” had told them it was time to “sell all the merch.” Yet while the players flashed relaxed smiles onstage, there seemed to be a slightly more sober if not somber air to the proceedings — and a straightforward repertoire to match.

Ben Monder of The Bad Plus in Meadow Hall at Groton Hill. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Anderson’s “Motivations II” built slowly around spectral picking by Monder and brush work by King, followd by “Not Even Close to Far Off,” which moved at choppier gait before fading out with a slowed acoustic bass riff and snare rimshots. “Carriers” sealed the evening’s subtle tone with Speed’s creamier tenor sax over Monder’s harmonic spreads, a tune as impressionistic as the pinkish sunset clouds outside the “stern” windows of Meadow Hall’s boat-hull design, transporting the sold-out audience.

From there, the band’s relative newcomers largely framed a formula of unison melodies on guitar and sax (or clarinet) with modest personality, with the seemingly shy concentrator Monder barely looking up from his guitar neck and pedalboard. Nonetheless, the guitarist—a mainstay of the Maria Schneider Orchestra who played on David Bowie’s swan song Blackstar—stood out as the most interesting voice in the group’s current mix.

The Bad Plus bow in Meadow Hall at Groton Hill. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Monder plucked sliding chords up and down his guitar across John Coltrane’s contemplative “Your Lady” (the only cover during a 90-minute set that leaned into material from the last two Bad Plus albums as a quartet), laced Anderson’s “Giants” with twinkling high tones, and sealed the impressionistic swirl of King’s “Tyrone’s Flamingo” with an ambient glaze. At times, Monder’s processed guitar suggested the hum of a decelerating engine, and he and Speed combined to begin Anderson’s “Deep Sea Sharks” with soft scrapes and moans that opened the ears to what life might sound like in a submarine. King tapped a toy drum that he placed on his floor tom, one of the few times he augmented his kit with a gadget, something he did more frequently during the group’s frisky early years. And Monder closed out that song with speedy flurries that might have sounded metallic under different amplification, riding over King’s heightened rhythm.

Likewise, in an unassuming encore of “Cupcakes One,” where unison sax and guitar melodies ruled, Monder bit into a ripping solo as an undercurrent over a brisker drum groove. Then it was final bows and waves to the Groton Hill audience (following an encore break where Anderson amusingly led the group into panel of blinds that he mistook for the stage door). Area fans will, however, get a last shot at catching The Bad Plus Farewell Tour when the quartet performs at the Newport Jazz Festival on Aug. 2.

Paul Robicheau served more than 20 years as contributing editor for music at the Improper Bostonian, in addition to writing and photography for The Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He was also the founding arts editor of Boston Metro.