Jazz Articles about Ken Vandermark

Ken Vandermark: Vandermark 5, Free Fall, Sonore & Territory Band

by Clifford Allen
April 6, 2008

Reedman, composer and bandleader Ken Vandermark is an artist not only of diverse talents--he's a tireless organizer and fulcrum of numerous scenes both in his adopted hometown of Chicago as well as western Europe--but also a diversifier of his talents. In the past decade and a half, his arsenal of saxophones and clarinets and his compositional book have been spread across a staggering array of ensembles, from duos to orchestras.Some of these projects have had a specific goal ...

The Thing with Ken Vandermark and Two Bands & A Legend: Collaborative Furies

by Eyal Hareuveni
December 1, 2007

Swedish/Norwegian power trio The Thing--featuring Mats Gusatfsson on saxophones and the colossal rhythm section of Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums--like to enlist additional players who will bring further energy to their already dense dynamics. American saxophone hero Joe McPhee, or “the Legend" as the group refer to him, has been an honorary member since he played on their second release, She Knows (Crazy Wisdom, 2002). Over the years, the band also joined forces with Italian ...

Territory Band: Collide

by Mark Corroto
November 10, 2007

Collide is Ken Vandermark's sixth release for his transatlantic small big band (or is it a large small group?) of American jazz meets European improvisers. Unlike the prior sessions, this disc is comprised of a single composition, divided into five parts.

The Territory Band has, at its core, players who execute Vandermark's writing with a satisfying proportion of improvised and ensemble playing that has as its contemporaries bands like the Brötzmann Tentet, the ICP Orchestra, and ...

Ken Vandermark: Rebus, Foreground Music and Journal

by Andrey Henkin
September 8, 2007

Joe Morris/Ken Vandermark/Luther Gray Rebus Clean Feed 2007 Ken Vandermark/Pandelis Karayorgis Foreground Music Okkadisk 2007 Bridge 61 Journal Atavistic 2006

In the Daniel Kraus documentary on Ken Vandermark, the saxophonist is shown writing music, organizing tours, traveling to and playing gigs, the typical ...

Ken Vandermark - Magnus Broo - Adam Lane - Paal Nilssen-Love: 4 Corners

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 23, 2007

La collaborazione tra Ken Vandermark e il contrabbassista Adam Lane - qui catturata dal vivo a Coimbra, Portogallo - si iscrive di diritto tra le più vivaci esplorazioni di quel terreno di confine tra il jazz più libero e la tensione ritmica di matrice punk-rock. Zone in cui band come i The Thing o anche i nostri Zu [con le dovute differenze] si muovono da consumati predoni, ma che nel caso di questo quartetto, sviluppa ulteriori strategie. Già il fatto ...

Ken Vandermark: A Discontinuous Line, Free Jazz Classics Vol. 3&4, Ideas, Montage

by Jeff Stockton
February 3, 2007

Vandermark 5 A Discontinuous Line Atavistic 2006 Vandermark 5 Free Jazz Classics, Vol. 3&4 Atavistic 2006 Ken Vandermark Ideas Not Two 2006 FME Montage Okka 2006

Ken Vandermark remains wildly prolific, not only ...

The Vandermark 5: A Discontinuous Line

by Nic Jones
January 30, 2007

Ken Vandermark could never be accused of wasting time, and while this particular documentation of his music lacks the rarefied air of his work with the SIA trio from earlier in 2006, this programme comes from an aesthetically different place. Vandermark's artistry is far from mono-dimensional.

Also, the dynamics of the V5 are of a radically different order, and on “Aperture (For Walker Evans)" Vandermark's squally sound on the baritone sax can get a little wearing, not least because the ...