Like many of Michael Jackson’s hits, it seems kind of impossible to imagine “Bad” without its memorable bass line. Well, Jonah Nilsson of Swedish jazz fusion outfit Dirty Loops is here to change your mind. He changes the bass line so much the song isn’t even recognizable as “Bad” until Nilsson starts singing something resembling the vocal melody about 15 seconds in. (His Jackson impersonation is pretty good.) Nilsson is basically a one man band here, singing lead and backing vocals, playing multiple keyboard parts and the drums.
He plays around with the melody constantly and adds these neat little keyboard and drum fills. Then, about two minutes in, he is joined by three pianists, Justin Lee Schultz, Anomalie Beats and Jordan Rudess, who all show off a little jazz flair. Nearing three minutes the pace slows to a crawl and his one-man “Bad” vamps to the end. It’s a crazy jazz fusion take on “Bad” that manages to remain poppy and accessible the whole way through. (And that’s saying something for jazz fusion.)
