C/D S/D Ken Vandermark

I've seen him play here in Vienna many times over the past few years – like Brotzmann and all that crowd, he's a frequent visitor to Europe. His duo show with Nilssen-Love in a small jazz club was one of my shows of this year, no question. And as part of Brotzmann's Tentet and the reeds trio Sonore with Brotzmann and Mats Gustafsson, he always looms large. I kind of see him as the link between Ayler and Coltrane on the one hand, and the European guys on the other. He can really swing when he wants to, but his free improvising is as fierce and uncompromising as anyone's.

He just put out a pair of CDs of his duo with Nilssen-Love on Smalltown Superjazzz which are stunning. I also recently picked up a CD he did with Barry Guy and Mark Sanders called Fox Fire which is pretty awesome as well.

$265,500 from the MacArthur Foundation in 1999 helped.

I'm pretty sure a substantial amount of that money went into recording and bringing out the heavy hitters from Europe to be in his bands, which in turn cemented his reputation. This is from folks I know that know him - I don't think he saved/kept very much of that money.

When I saw Vandermark in the Peter Brotzmann tentet+2, that was fucking amazing.

Brotzmann is fucking amazing.

I mean, I can imagine him playing with Pat Boone and it being amazing.

ps feel like i should disclose that my husband is the person who made the aforementioned movie, hence my relentless hype
(nate -- he is the one who was with me at the agalloch show fyi)

pps i saw brotzmann solo once and it was pretty rad.

I saw Vandermark in '96 or '97 at a tiny club. He was a beast that night. I mean that in the most positive way. It's like the endless stream of notes were fighting each other to get out of that horn first.

his Marker album with Steve Marquette and Andrew Clinkman on guitar, Macie Stewart on keyboards and violin and Phil Sudderberg on drums is totally fab. It has tributes to Anthony Braxton & Bernie Worrell, Chantal Akerman, Pina Bausch and Cliff Richard. Well perhaps not, but it's titled Wired For Sound.

... disappointed if there wasn't a tribute to Cliff Richard on that album.

Saw him playing as Lean Left (w/ Terrie Ex, Andy Moor, Paal Nilssen-Love) last night. Great gig, but on the short side. Ken struggled somehwat to be heard over two electric guitars and Nilssen-Love's drumming (he is one of the loudest drummers I've ever seen) but more than held his own. Andy Moor is an awesome guitarist btw.

some of them ear blistering Scorch Trio albums featuring PNL with guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim are pretty ace, particularly the 2002 s/t one.