Ken Vandermark

Born: September 22, 1964

For the past 20 years, Ken Vandermark has been exploring and working to expand the possibilities of improvised and composed music in North America and Europe. Since moving to Chicago from Boston in 1989, he's performed and recorded in a variety of contexts, and with many internationally renowned musicians. Past groups of significance include the NRG Ensemble, the DKV Trio, AALY, FME, the Vandermark Quartet, Spaceways Inc., School Days, Cinghiale, Witches & Devils, Steam, and Caffeine. Currently, the majority of his work as a composer and improviser has been directed toward the Vandermark 5, Powerhouse Sound, the Frame Quartet, the Peter Br?tzmann Chicago Tentet, Sonore, and separate duos with the percussionists Tim Daisy and Paal Nilssen-Love, the Territory Band, CINC, and Free Fall

PIVOT

By Mats Gustafsson

Label: Silkheart Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: The Sensation of Sliding; Blowing out from Chicago; Epistemological Glide; Drops of Sorrow. Accelerating; PIVOT Duos 1; PIVOT Duos 2; PIVOT Duos 3; PIVOT Duos 4; PIVOT Duos 5; PIVOT Duos 6; Unmeasured Mile; I am aware. Standing in Snow.; Drifting against the Wind.; Popular Music Theory.

Broadcast Transformer

By Edition Redux

Label: Audiographic Records
Released: 2025
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).

Fourth Atlas

By Ken Vandermark

Label: Not Two Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Stray; In Low Light; Cardboard; Plates With Glass; Discrete Charm; Sight Derail; Tapies; 3/4 Of The Time.

A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz: Part 4

by Ian Patterson
August 5, 2025

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 The fourth installment of A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz--a series developed with the cooperation of the Ukrainian Institute--introduces four more highly talented jazz artists/groups from Ukraine. The vast range of personal musical identities attests to the strength, depth and originality of contemporary ...

Scheen Jazzorkester & Fredrik Ljungkvist: Framat!

by Mark Corroto
June 8, 2025

Scandinavian large ensembles have much to teach their more conservative American counterparts about reinventing the jazz orchestra for the 21st century. Fram?t! by Scheen Jazzorkester is a powerful affirmation of this idea. This Norwegian ensemble has consistently pushed the boundaries of large ensemble jazz, and Fram?ti--their tenth release since forming in 2010--is another compelling addition to ...

Svetlost with Ken Vandermark and Paal Nilssen-Love at Jazzbina Pula

by Petra Cvelbar
May 18, 2025

Tim Daisy and Ken Vandermark: Fourth Atlas

by John Sharpe
May 5, 2025

True to its title, Fourth Atlas is the fourth album by the Chicago twosome of reedman Ken Vandermark and drummer Tim Daisy. Daisy was a member of the esteemed Vandermark 5 from 2002 to its demise in 2010, and the association has only deepened since. More than shared history, they enjoy a a shared aesthetic and ...

Svetlost, Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love at MKC, Skopje

by Nenad Georgievski
April 25, 2025

Svetlost, Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love MKC, Skopje Skopje, Macedonia April 16th, 2025 There was no prelude, no soft landing. The first notes of “Puma in the Corner" leapt into the air like a wild animal, chaotic and alert. A shriek above our heads--someone channeling emotion so openly it felt like ...

Wadada Leo Smith / Vijay Iyer, Perelman / McPhee / Vandermark & Michael Gregory Jackson

by Maurice Hogue
April 7, 2025

This episode of One Man's Jazz is loaded with introductions to new albums by a remarkable group of musicians. Heading the list is the duet of Wadada Leo Smith and Vijay Iyer. Their new Defiant Life, not their first time playing together, speaks to the current state of the world and finding possible paths to liberation. ...