Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Edition Redux: Broadcast Transformer

Edition Redux: Broadcast Transformer

By Mark Corroto
February 15, 2025
View read count

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark has long made it a priority to dedicate nearly all of his compositions to other artists. From painters and photographers to writers, poets and fellow musicians, his influences span a wide artistic spectrum. Film, in particular, has been a significant source of inspiration for this long-time Chicago resident. While Vandermark has composed two commissioned soundtracks—Strade D'Acqua / Roads Of Water (Multikulti Project, 2010) and Parallax Sounds (Just Temptation Recordings, 2014)—his approach to music consistently embodies a cinematic scope.

Edition Redux is an ideal group for realizing Vandermark's cinematic vision. The quartet features Erez Dessel (keyboards),

Beth McDonald

tuba

" data-original-title="" title="">Beth McDonald (tuba), and

Lily Finnegan

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Lily Finnegan (drums), alongside Vandermark himself. Their debut, Better A Rook Than A Pawn (Audiographie, 2023), introduced a dynamic framework that Broadcast Transformer continues to explore. The players navigate Vandermark's intricate prearranged systems, which shift modes and emotions multiple times within the four tracks presented.

This release features 14 new compositions that can be organized or even rearranged during live performances. The piece "Other Nichols Other Dimes (for Herbie Nichols and The Minutemen) / Salto (for Jacob Lawrence) / Pony Up (for Rebecca Morris)" pays tribute to two painters, bebop pianist

Herbie Nichols

piano
1919 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Nichols, and the punk rock band Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels On The Dime (SST Records, 1984). It begins with an electric synthesizer groove paired with the driving interplay of tenor saxophone and tuba. Vandermark then signals a tempo and thematic shift, opening into a section of free improvisation where he transitions to clarinet and Dessel switches to piano. Dessel's sharp, dynamic piano work escalates the tension before the music shifts again, with Vandermark unleashing an urgent, baritone saxophone- driven passage.

The collaged nature of the compositions evokes the works of film composers like Nino Rota, Max Steiner, and Bernard Herrmann, creating music that feels visual— almost as if it were written for an imagined film. The remaining three tracks follow a similar structure of suites with shifting themes, drawing inspiration from two painters, four photographers, a filmmaker, Japanese saxophonist

Akira Sakata

saxophone, alto
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Akira Sakata, and jazz luminaries such as

Lester Bowie

trumpet
1941 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Lester Bowie,

Bill Dixon

trumpet
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Dixon, and

Cecil Taylor

piano
1929 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Cecil Taylor. The punk band Scratch Acid also finds its place among Vandermark's eclectic sources of inspiration.

Ultimately, Vandermark's compositions not only pay homage to the artists who influence him but also invite his listeners to explore and discover these creative references for themselves.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Other Nichols Other Dimes (for Herbie Nichols and The Minutemen) / Salto (for Jacob Lawrence) / Pony Up (for Rebecca Morris); Autochrome (for Faith Ringgold) / Scratch Vocal (for Scratch Acid) / Clockwise (for Peter Greenaway) / Velocity Dub (for Joel Sternfeld); Text Tile/Entre Chien Et Loup/Slate Arrangement/Shinkansen Dream; Winged Jaguar (for Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor) / Flipside (for Diane Arbus and Lisette Model) / Five Dollars In A $3 World (for Lester Bowie).

Personnel

Edition Redux

band / ensemble / orchestra

Erez Dessel

piano

Lily Finnegan

drums

Beth McDonald

tuba

Ken Vandermark

saxophone

Additional Instrumentation

Erez Dessel: Nord synthesizer; Beth McDonald: electronics; Ken Vandermark: clarinet.

Album information

Title: Broadcast Transformer | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Audiographic Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Rodney Whitaker: Mosaic: The Music o...
< Previous

My Shining Hour
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.