Vandermark ( Ken )

Ken Vandermark | Marcin Oles | Bartlomiej Brat Oles | Ideas | Not Two Records

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Our first contact with Ken Vandermark was just a handshake – at one of the concerts in Poland of the DKV formation. Marek Winiarski, the boss of NotTwo Records, introduced us to each other. Some time passed until we had the chance to play together for the first time. When the Vandermark Five gave a concert, at the Cracow music club Alchemia,we got together after and jammed. The idea of recording an album together was with us before the evening had ended. We had prepared original compositions for the recording session, but we talked before going into the studio, and after Ken Vandermark’s suggest we decided for the recording to be one of the free improvisation. We normally work in different musical fields and despite that, or maybe just because of that, every meeting like this brings about a new experience, even a kind of journey into the unknown… Marcin & Bartlomiej Brat Oles (album’s original linear notes) Continue reading →

Vandermark 5 | Annular Gift | Not Two Records

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The Vandermark 5’s Annular Gift is its most accessible and swinging recording to date. Recorded live (one reason) in Krakow, Poland, the quintet has come together (reason two) as a true aggregate of players. This is their fifteenth official release (there have been some CD-Rs and compilation discs) and third for the Polish label Not Two. The others were the sprawling and ultimately satisfying 12-CD collection of live dates at Alchemia in 2004 (since Alchemia, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm replaced trombonist Jeb Bishop in V5) and a double-LP, Four Sides Of The Story (2006). Continue reading →

Ken Vandermark | Resonance | Not Two Records

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At the end of the week, music fans from all over the region flocked to the concerts in Lviv and Krakow that the musicians had been rehearsing for over the preceding five days, one group even chartering a jet from Georgia. At the end of the week, when it was time to say goodbye, the bonds formed between some of the musicians were so strong that some couldn’t contain their tears. But for many of these artists it was adieu rather than farewell as many intend to build on their Resonance experience by collaborating with each again in the future. — Philip Palmer, Jazzwise magazine) Continue reading →

Vandermark 5 | Four Sides To The Story | Not Two Records

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NotTwo Records extremely limited, outstandingly lavish 2- LP’s box-set, further pushes limits not only musical boundaries of improvised music but also the whole concept of conceptual package, as recently re-defined by its own issue of “Alchemia” by Vandermark 5. This exquisitely realized set includes 2 separate LP, housed together in a one-of-its-kind unique box with absolutely astonishing covert art. Comprehensive booklet with many personal insights from Ken Vandermark himself, rare pictures, interviews and essays from acclaimed critics, compliment the whole set. Continue reading →