The Vandermark 5
The Vandermark 5, led by saxophonist Ken Vandermark, was a groundbreaking avant-garde jazz quintet active from 1996 to 2010. Known for blending free jazz, improvisation, and intricate compositions, the Chicago-based group featured top-tier musicians like Jeb Bishop, Dave Rempis, Kent Kessler, Fred Lonberg-Holm & Tim Daisy. They released acclaimed albums, toured widely, and became a defining force in improvised music and experimental jazz.
Thinking On One’s Feet
Thinking On One’s Feet
Alto Saxophone – Dave Rempis
Bass – Kent Kessler
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Ken Vandermark
Drums – Tim Mulvenna
Trombone, Guitar – Jeb Bishop
Producer – Savage Sound Syndicate
LIVE at the EMPTY BOTTLE, CHICAGO, November & December 1998
The Horse Jumps And The Ship Is Gone
The Horse Jumps And The Ship Is Gone
“This 2-CD’s set documents an expanded Vandermark 5 at Chicago’s Green Mill club in June of 2009. The quintet is assisted by Scandinavian stalwarts Magnus Broo (trumpet) and Håvard Wiik (piano), both members of Atomic who previously worked with several members of the Chicago outfit. The album once again proves that the Vandermark catalogue for this band is an awe-inspiring work-in-progress. Using several songs from ‘Annular Gift’ (Not Two, 2009) as a foundation, leader Ken Vandermark augmented his compositions, rewriting passages and rethinking their structures to fit this seven-piece Special Edition. The result is a striking balance of tight interplay, free excursions and anything in between. The album includes recent compositions, returns to ‘A Discontinuous Line’ and ‘Beat Reader’ (with a marvellous version of “Friction”), contains one new composition (“Nameless”) and two pieces composed by the guests: Broo’s “New Weather” and Wiik’s “Green Mill Tilter”. ‘The Horse Jumps And The Ship Is Gone’ is another strong V5-release, that not only confirms Vandermark’s reputation as one of the hardest working men in the business, but also the band’s telepathic interplay and adventurous spirit.” -Instantjazz Blog
—
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Vandermark
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Dave Rempis
Trumpet – Magnus Broo
Bass – Kent Kessler
Cello – Fred Lonberg-Holm
Drums – Tim Daisy
Piano – Håvard Wiik
Recorded on June 19 and 20, 2009, in concert at the Green Mill, Chicago.
The Color of Memory
The Color of Memory
“Ken Vandermark’s compositions here reflect two distinct areas of his headspace– four of them lean hard on wild improvisation, abrasive texture, and intensity, and the other four offer a more lyrical, traditional perspective on the group’s interplay. Personally, I’m fonder of the latter, and the difference is pronounced enough that separating the two camps on the two discs might actually have made sense. With upright bass, drums, two saxes/clarinets, and trombone, the band has a unique texture, and the harmonic structure of the songs is sometimes very ambiguous.” -Joe Tangari, Pitchfork
—
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Daisy: Drums
Ken Vandermark: Reeds
Dave Rempis: Saxophones
Jeb Bishop: Trombone
Recorded on 10, 11 July 2004 at Semaphore Recording, Chicago, IL
Recorded By, Mixed By – Bob Weston
Target Or Flag
Target Or Flag
The DownBeat review by Aaron Cohen states that “Vandermark knows the value of a working band, and the unit on this dics is the most cohesive that he’s led… Target or Flag shows that while Vandermark’s saxophone aerodynamics brought him an audience initially, it’s his writing and bandleading skills that will build his lasting impact.”
—
Ken Vandermark: Saxophone, Clarinet
Mars Williams: Saxohpone
Jeb Bishop: Trombone, Guitar
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Engineer: John McCortney
Photography: Marty Perez
Design: PMFroehle
Recorded October 25 and 26, 1997 and mixed December 6, 1997 at Airwave Recording Studios, Chicago
Single Piece Flow
Single Piece Flow
In his review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick states “The musicians are all up to the task… But the ‘stars’ of the album are the compositions themselves, probing and muscular, offering a fresh way through the stasis that was building in some circles of avant jazz by the mid-’90s.”
The Penguin Guide to Jazz says “Almost temperate in parts, there’s some exemplary use of the group as a unit, with a piece like ‘The Mark Inside’ offering a sort of jaundiced twist on jazz tradition.”
The Down Beat review by Aaron Cohen notes that “Vandermark’s themes are often based around endearing riffs that are never merely cute and provide a lively framework for each performer’s agility.”
Ken Vandermark: Reeds
Mars Williams: Reeds
Jeb Bishop: Trombone, Guitar
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Engineer, Mixing: Brendan Burke
Recorded and Mixed on August 10 & 11, 1996 at the Uberstudio, Chicago.
Simpatico
Simpatico
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states “Using American jazzmen for their spiritual inspiration and the European model of free jazz improv, Vandermark and company have come up with something entirely their own: a solid, gritty, soulful funk and squall band who holds within their collective grasp the souls of Sun Ra, Steve Lacy, Albert Ayler, and James Brown’s JBs.”[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that “Rempis is a surprise substitute for Williams, and since he plays only alto it slightly narrows the tonal palette – though this supercharges and superbly focuset set is surely the group’s best to date.”
—
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Ken Vandermark: Saxophone, Clarinet
Dave Rempis: Saxophone
Jeb Bishop: Trombone, Guitar
Recorded at Airwave Studios, Chicago, IL on December 12 & 13, 1998
Engineer – John McCortney
Producer – Vandermark 5
Free Jazz Classics Vol. 3 & 4
Free Jazz Classics Vol. 3 & 4
“Both discs are extremely well recorded in a live setting, presenting vibrant programs of blistering free bop, rousing blues and further experimentation. Vandermark’s own writing tends towards heavier arrangement than what’s featured on these tunes. He organizes a number of these pieces into suites, elevating the concept beyond mere blowing tunes.” -Troy Collins, All About Jazz
—
Jeb Bishop: Trombone
Tim Daisy: Drums
Kent Kessler: Bass
Dave Rempis: Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
Ken Vandermark: Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Baritone)
Recorded live at The Empty Bottle & The Green Mill, Chicago, Spring ’03 & Spring ’04.
Free Jazz Classics Vol. 1 & 2
Free Jazz Classics Vol. 1 & 2
Vandermark always doses out strong medicine, and since he normally prefers working with his own compositions, this tip of the hat to history and its makers is doubly meaningful. The band features a forceful horn section, with Jeb Bishop on trombone, Dave Rempis on alto and tenor saxophone, plus Vandermark playing tenor sax and clarinets. Bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Tim Mulvenna work overtime keeping the furnaces fueled underneath all this firepower. Even though the songs are recognizable, the group, as one would expect, puts its own unique twist on each to render them distinctly original contributions to improvised music.” -Frank Rubolino, All About Jazz
—
Jeb Bishop: Trombone
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Dave Rempis: Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
Ken Vandermark: Clarinet (Bass), Double Bass, Sax (Tenor)
Malachi Ritscher: Engineer
Joel Wanek: Photography
Four Sides of the Story
Four Sides of the Story
Cello – Fred Lonberg-Holm
Double Bass – Kent Kessler
Drums – Tim Daisy
Saxophone – Dave Rempis
Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Vandermark
Recorded November 23, 2005 at the Alchemia, Kraków, Poland.
Mixed and mastered at MAQ Studio Poland.
Cover [Front Cover “Szlak Trafił” (Stick-in Picture On Paper 30cm X 30cm)] – Andrzej L. Turek
Graphic Design – Andrzej L. Turek, Andrzej Wojnowski
Producer – Marek Winiarski
Recorded, Mixed, Mastered – Michał Rosicki
Elements of Style… Exercises in Surprise
Elements of Style… Exercises in Surprise
“That aim at the visceral is what makes The Vandermark Five, a quintet of white guys in turtlenecks, so unexpectedly refreshing. The avant-jazz scene is filled with those who wish to expand its sonic palette, or redefine the term “jazz” entirely within a world of samples and post-modern jumble. It’s a rare group that purposefully and successfully advances the movement into modernity within the confines of a fairly standard ensemble, and the fact that traditionalists have questioned V5’s “legitimacy” only strengthens their position. A listener will find something immediately gripping about their newest recording, Elements of Style… Exercises in Surprise: It’s the sound of solid compositions filtered through unpretentious, energetic performing.” -Pitchfork
—
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Daisy: Drums
Dave Rempis: Saxophone
Ken Vandermark: Saxophone
Jeb Bishop: Trombone
Recorded Semaphore Recording, Chicago, 9th & 10th of July, 2003
Mastered By – John Golden
Mixed By – Vandermark 5
Recorded By, Mixed By – Bob Weston
Drink, Don’t Drown
Drink, Don’t Drown
Bass – Kent Kessler
Drums – Tim Mulvenna
Reeds [Left Reeds] – Ken Vandermark
Reeds [Right Reeds] – Mars Williams
Trombone, Guitar – Jeb Bishop
Producer – Savage Sound Syndicate
LIVE! at the EMPTY BOTTLE in Chicago, August & September 1997
Tracks 1, 5, 6 recorded 16 September 1997
Tracks 2, 3, 4 recorded 26 August 1997
Burn the Incline
Burn the Incline
“The V5 is arguably Ken Vandermark’s most widely renowned group. Of all of the Chicago reedman’s projects it certainly has the most miles under its belt in terms of touring and the voices that round out it’s ranks are among the vanguard of the city’s still expanding creative music scene. What this adds up to in the way of studio work is a quincunx of players that is well accustomed to each other’s idiosyncratic preferences and interests. What it means in terms of the music itself is anything goes. Rock, funk, free improv, blues, soul- all the musical lineages of their adopted Windy City home- everything is tossed into the pot, sometimes even during the course of a single piece. Such an all inclusive approach can be both liberating and unexpectedly limiting.” -Derek Taylor, All About Jazz
—
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Dave Rempis: Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Ken Vandermark: Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet [B♭], Bass Clarinet
Jeb Bishop: Trombone, Guitar
Recorded December 9–10, 1999, Airwave Recording Studios, Chicago.
Engineer – John McCortney
Photography – Joel Wanek
Producer – Vandermark 5
Design – PMFroehle
Beat Reader
Beat Reader
“Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm sure adds some spice and change of perspective to the Vandermark 5, a free jazz band with stong roots in the tradition and characterized by Vandermark’s broad, soulful and often funky soloing. Those characteristics are still here, but the quintet moves more into avant and free improv territory, with touches of chamber jazz, prog rock and even Hendrix-like sounds, not from a guitar, but from the cello! Variation galore with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Listen to “Signposts”, on which both Lonberg-Holm on cello and Kent Kessler on bass create an nervous background frenzy with their bows, while Vandermark and Rempis play slow contained melancholy notes over the madness of the strings, then Tim Daisy breaks the thing open into a high tempo drums duo with the bass clarinet, and then when you think the whole thing will move into a free-bopper, the piece collapses into some slow playing, then picking up speed again with the clarinet going crazy, one beat by Rempis and the whole thing stops for the arco bass to play some chamberlike tune moving into cacophony when the cello and all the other instruments join, suddenly and unexpectedly ending with unisono rhythmic beats by the whole band. “Speedplay” is wonderful free bop, high tempo, high energy, great fun, ending in a few minutes by the cello emulating Hendrix. Not one track has a unity of style or approach, but is broken down in many pieces without loosing coherence. This is probably one of Vandermark’s strongest compositional strengths : to structure carefully with strong melodic lines (listen to the beauty of “Any Given Number”), while leaving freedom to act, to integrate many things while creating something new, and all this while maintaing the band’s phenomenal drive. It’s fierce, it’s tender, it’s hypnotic. A captivating, surprising, intense album.” -Free Jazz Blog
—
Ken Vandermark: Baritone Saxophone , Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Kent Kessler: Bass
Fred Lonberg-Holm: Cello
Tim Daisy: Drums
Dave Rempis: Tenor Saxophone
Recorded on 19 & 20 December 2006 @ Semaphore, Chicago, Il., USA
Recorded By – Bob Weston
Annular Gift
Annular Gift
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 remarkable studio records, A Discontinuous Line (Atavistic, 2006) and Beat Reader (Atavistic, 2008). Annular Gift is this incarnation’s first live album, documenting in crystal clear sound their unflagging energy and dynamic sensibility over two nights (March 14 & 15, 2009) at the internationally renowned jazz club Alchemia, in Krakow, Poland. The mammoth opener “Spiel (for Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill)” showcases the remarkable versatility of the newest member, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm. Negotiating the lengthy tune’s numerous dramatic shifts, Longberg-Holm alternates between amplified and acoustic sonorities, veering from coruscating feedback to spectral pointillism. Typical of Vandermark’s episodic writing, the piece eschews standardized forms, modulating through a series of stylistic changes that range from metallic funk to austere neo-classicism. The rhythm section gracefully complies with each transition as Vandermark’s brawny tenor cries and tranquil clarinet musings contrast with Dave Rempis’ serpentine alto salvos. The thorny harmonic changes of the boppish “Table, Skull, and Bottles (for Bruno Johnson)” provide fodder for a string of pungent soliloquies, including an especially trenchant alto screed from Rempis. Taking advantage of a brief respite, Vandermark reveals his bluesy lyricism on the somber beginning of “Early Color (for Saul Leiter),” before the piece builds to a caterwauling finale. Kent Kessler’s quicksilver bass technique introduces the robust swinger “Second Marker (for Ab Baars)” and drummer Tim Daisy provides the labyrinthine “Cement (for Michael Haberz)” with a hypnotic groove, fueling Lonberg-Holm’s kaleidoscopic ruminations and a climactic tenor saxophone duel between Vandermark and Rempis. The entire ensemble contributes to the punchy closer “Cadmium Orange (for Francis Bacon),” ending the set with a rousing assault of jagged angles and pugilistic downbeats. For many reasons, working groups tend to be an unfortunate rarity in today’s jazz scene. For 11 years Vandermark has done a phenomenal job of keeping this group together, and not only vital—but inspiring. Annular Gift proves their second decade looks to be as promising as their first.” -Troy Collins, All About Jazz
—
Dave Rempis: Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Kent Kessler: Bass
Fred Longberg-Holm: Cello, Electronics
Tim Daisy: Drums
Ken Vandermark: Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet [Bb Clarinet]
Recorded live in concert on March 14 and 15, 2009
Layout – Marek Wajda
Mastered – Bob Weston
Mixed – Ken Vandermark, Bob Weston
Photography – Thomas Wunsch
Recorded – Michał Rosicki
Alchemia
Alchemia
Live document of the extraordinary musical event during five nights stand at Alchemia club in Cracow, Poland in March 2004.
Double Bass – Bartłomiej Brat Oleś* (pistas: 11-1 to 12-5), Kent Kessler
Drums – Marcin Oleś (pistas: 11-1 to 12-5), Tim Daisy
Reeds – Ken Vandermark
Saxophone [Saxophones] – Dave Rempis
Trombone – Jeb Bishop
Graphic Design – Bartosz Winiarski, Marek Winiarski
Mixed, Mastered – Bartłomiej Brat Oleś, Marcin Oleś, Michał Rosicki
Producer – Marek Winiarski
Recorded – Michał Rosicki
Recorded March 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, 2004
Airports for Light
Airports for Light
“Airports for Light is the Vandermark Five’s sixth record, and will be of interest to anyone who has enjoyed their previous five. In fact, the familiarity can be distracting: the playing is spot-on, all the time, especially from Bishop and Vandermark, both of whom display a fairly intimidating mastery of styles and timbres. The music ranges from European-styled free improvisation, rock and funk moves, sudden bursts of activity and all the cohesion you’d expect from a band of players who’d been together for much of the past decade. But if things occasionally seem a little too familiar, it’s not for lack of interesting ideas.” -Dominique Leone, Pitchfork
—
Ken Vandermark: Reeds
Dave Rempis: Reeds
Jeb Bishop: Trombone
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Daisy: Drums
Bob Weston: Engineer, Mixing
P.M. Froehle: Images, Processing
John Golden: Mastering
Acoustic Machine
Acoustic Machine
Ken Vandermark’s quintet releases yearly progress reports on his growth as both a composer and musician. Acoustic Machine, the fifth installment by the Vandermark 5, features the maturing voices of the Chicago jazzman and the highly talented musicians that make up this working unit.
“Working unit” may be the key to the success of this band’s sound. As the quintet has progressed, Vandermark’s writing has turned toward composing to the strengths of each musician. He continues to dedicate each composition to his musical forefathers, as he does here with Archie Shepp, Stan Getz, Julius Hemphill, Elvin Jones, and Lester Young. But each dedication is a mere jumping off point for his quintet. Unlike the young lions of today, this quintet is not damned to repeat the music of their fathers. Their dedication to Lester Young on “Stranger Blues” begins with Kent Kessler walking a traditional baseline and Tim Mulvenna working a regular pulse, but doesn’t end in 1959. Playing with full respect to Mr. Young (as they do with each dedication) the quintet pushes beyond a “Lester Young sound,” in effect making the music their own. Vandermark accomplishes this feat by accenting ensemble playing and individual voices of his band. Of particular interest here is bassist Kent Kessler’s coherent soloing, especially his bowing. Perhaps according each musician equal footing in the sound mix accomplishes the democracy of Vandermark’s vision for this band.Trombonist Jeb Bishop is given plenty of space on “License Complete” (for Julius Hemphill) to apply an R&B bucket o’ gut trombone solo. He also can paint himself as a J.J. Johnson accompanist to Vandermark or Dave Rempis’ saxophone statements. Whether playing in the fiery medium of Archie Shepp’s vocabulary “Auto Topography” or the coolness of Stan Getz in “Coast To Coast,” the quintet overlays group interplay and overlaps solos so as to avoid the tedium of a head-solo-head situation.
This band is undisturbed and satisfied playing music from inside and outside the jazz attitude. They swoop upon traditions and reel in free jazz to make covert musical sense.” -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz
—
Kent Kessler: Bass
Tim Mulvenna: Drums
Dave Rempis: Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Ken Vandermark: Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet [B♭]
Jeb Bishop: TromboneRecorded January 10 & 11, 2001 at Airwave Recording Studios, Chicago.
Engineer – John McCortney
Photography By – Joel Wanek
Producer – Vandermark 5
Design – PMFroehle
Atavistic 128
Released September 18th 2001
A Discontinuous Line
A Discontinuous Line
“Vandermark’s biggest strength as a writer is his ability to create compositions that mesh challenging and sometimes long-form structure with freewheeling improvisation. The Color of Memory may have been a high-water mark for the original V5 lineup, but A Discontinuous Line signals a shift for a group that’s just as compelling.” -John Kelman, All About Jazz
—
Dave Rempis: Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Ken Vandermark: Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet [Bb]
Kent kessler: Bass
Fred Longberg-Holm: Cello
Tim Daisy: Drums
Recorded: 15 & 16 December 2005 at Semaphore, Chicago
Mastered By – John Golden
Photography By – Joel Wanek
Design – House Of Ata
Recorded By, Mixed By – Robert Weston