Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Made To Break: Provoke

Made To Break: Provoke

By Mark Corroto
June 10, 2013
View read count

The evolution of

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark continues with his new quartet Made To Break, an electric/acoustic ensemble that bridges his musical strengths of composition, organization, and improvisation. Founded in 2011, the saxophonist drew together bassist

Devin Hoff

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Devin Hoff (The Resonance Ensemble), drummer

Tim Daisy

drums
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Daisy (Vandermark 5, The Frame Quartet, Sound In Action Trio, Bridge 61), and a new contributor,

Christof Kurzmann

multi-instrumentalist

" data-original-title="" title="">Christof Kurzmann (electronics).

In the early 2000s, Vandermark's interest in non-jazz elements like funk and reggae developed with his Spaceways Inc. trio and electronics with Frame Quartet and Powerhouse Sound, the latter featured Scandinavian noise artist

Lasse Marhaug

" data-original-title="" title="">Lasse Marhaug. His improvising, both solo and in duo (with Daisy) also became an important path for him. As he retired these young projects (including the most successful V5), the seeds for Made To Break were planted.

Provoke and the LP (only) Lacerba (Clean Feed, 2013) are the fruits of his latest transformation. Conceived as compositional modules, each lengthy piece is built of blocks or modules of sound in which players improvise within. The music is a more methodical version of

John Zorn

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">John Zorn's Cobra and resolves itself as a democratic version of a

Lawrence "Butch" Morris

cornet
1947 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Lawrence "Butch" Morris Conduction. Opening "Further (for John Cage)" with a simple tenor/drums duet, the piece builds into a heavy funk with the shock of electronics sizzling. The music morphs several times, here and with all tracks, into meditative passages, lyrical (dare I say songlike hymns?) and heavy rock elements. Each module, opens up possibilities of soloing, duos and group interactions. "Presentation (for Buckminster Fuller)" opens with Kurzmann's electronic circuits firing, fizzling and smoldering as an invitation for some strikingly exquisite clarinet that segues into heavy electric bass destruction.

Each module is a cause for spontaneous structures, improvisation on jazz and non-jazz elements, and like all emerging music, some surprises.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Further (for John Cage); Presentation (for Buckminster Fuller); Of The Facts. (for Marshall McLuhan).

Personnel

Ken Vandermark

saxophone

Ken Vandermark: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Tim Daisy: drums; Devin Hoff: electric bass; Christof Kurzmann: electronics [lloopp].

Album information

Title: Provoke | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Satori
< Previous

Einar Scheving: Land Mins Fodur
Next >

Ken Vandermark Concerts

Oct 7 Tue

Ken Vandermark + Ben Lamar Gay Ensemble

La Dynamo De Banlieues Bleues
Pantin, France

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.