Jazz Articles about Ken Vandermark

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Ken Vandermark - Barry Guy - Mark Sanders: Fox Fire

by AAJ Italy Staff
December 21, 2009

Tra le caratteristiche che rendono il sassofonista e clarinettista Ken Vandermark un musicista unico nel panorama jazz/impro di oggi, c'è sicuramente la sua capacità - frutto di umiltà e intelligenza - di frequentare gli ambiti più differenti con un'attitudine dialettica mobile, in grado di innestare a più livelli felicissimi cortocircuiti espressivi con le tradizioni della pratica improvvisativi. Accanto a progetti ritmicamente più caratterizzati, eccolo anche protagonista di lavori di pura e libera improvvisazione, come in questo trio “inglese" con il ...

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Vandermark 5: Annular Gift

by Troy Collins
October 31, 2009

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader Ken Vandermark has led his flagship ensemble, the Vandermark 5, through a decade's worth of personnel changes. Despite the band's rotating roster, the ensemble's sound has remained remarkably consistent. A powerhouse unit capable of serene delicacy as well as unfettered intensity, the quintet has won a legion of fans the world over for its uncompromising vision of contemporary creative improvised music. The current line-up has been active for three years now, documented on two ...

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The Frame Quartet: 35mm

by Troy Collins
October 7, 2009

Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader Ken Vandermark is widely known for paying homage to artists of various disciplines, regularly including dedications in his song titles to those who have inspired him. On 35mm, the studio debut of his newest ensemble, The Frame Quartet, Vandermark reveals his longstanding debt to cinema, not only in name, but in approach. Filmmaking is an intensely collaborative medium, and The Frame Quartet embraces this concept implicitly; Vandermark is the sole writer, yet each ...

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Ken Vandermark: Collected Fiction (Improvised Bass & Reed Duos) & Fire Room: Broken Music

by Marc Medwin
August 3, 2009

Ken VandermarkCollected Fiction (Improvised Bass & Reed Duos)Okkadisk2008 Fire RoomBroken MusicAtavistic2008 Saxophonist Ken Vandermark has made a career of placing himself in diverse company, whether as a leader or as part of a shared effort. These two releases continue the trend, finding him in partnership with collaborators old and new. However, he brings new ...

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Ken Vandermark: The Passion and Ascension of a Brilliant Mind

by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.
April 28, 2009

This interview was originally published in 2006.

In a world that has difficulty and attitude toward unfamiliar and creative thought, Ken Vandermark is a visionary exploring possibilities with improvisational and compositional forms.A recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, he has used the funding to support his interest in bringing together some of today's most innovative and forward-thinking musicians and composers in the global arts community. Embracing music and life without compromise, Vandermark is a bold and brilliant ...

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Ken Vandermark Vinyl Blowout!

by Robert Iannapollo
April 4, 2009

Ken Vandermark Reonance Ensemble Resonance Not Two 2009 Vandermark 5 Four Sides To The Story Not Two 2009 Ken Vandermark has had a productive relationship with the Polish label Not Two, which put out the 12-disc boxed set of the complete Vandermark 5 at the Alchemia club in Krakow from 2004. The most recent ...

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Vandermark / Kessler / McBride / Joode / Flaten: Collected Fiction

by Mark Corroto
December 2, 2008

The beauty and the challenge of undertaking a project like Collected Fiction, a collection of bass and reed improvised duos, is to make an engaging and thoughtful experience for both players and listeners. These 22-tracks do just that with a polymorphic approach that renews itself with each track.The organizer here is Chicagoan Ken Vandermark, playing with three very familiar bassists and one somewhat new acquaintant. Vandermark's connection with Kent Kessler goes way back to their work with Hal ...