Format: CDR, Album, commercial release
Performer: Vandermark 5
Album: Every Tuesday at the Empty Bottle the battle for supremacy continues:
the Vandermark 5 vs. Santo, El Enmascarado de Plata — thinking on one's feet.
Year: 1999
Label: Savage Soud Syndicate
Catalog#: none
Country: USA
Genre: Jazz
Style: Avant-Garde, Funk Jazz, Post Bop
Quality: FLAC
Size: 377 MB
that's the hallmark of The Vandermark 5's current dynamism
"Simpatico & 'vs. Santo' review"
Published on 07-01-99 by The Wire
Writing credit: Julian Cowley
The two CDs by Ken Vandermark's quartet find the trio more tightly circumscribed by the leader's tough tenor and Dave Pempis's clenched alto. But they kick back pugnaciously. Vs Santo was recorded Iive towards the end of last year at Chicago's Empty Bottle. Simpatico is a studio recording from the same period. The five pieces common to both albums enable you to compare the group's performance with and without audience support. Predictably, the Iive set is a little more ragged and has a slightly higher energy level, while Simpatico is characterised by enthusiasm and unpretentious directness. In both cases, the group cuts through the intricacy of the compositions, as they swing from snarling ferocity to boisterous simmering. A highlight is "Vent", for which, in both versions, Bishop shifts to electric guitar. He whips up a searing maelstrom that precipitates tumbling ensemble interplay, precariously balanced and constantly threatening to descend again to frenzy.
However, neither record is consistently confrontational, and elsewhere Bishop's guitar contributions are rather less upfront. Although driving post-bop and free jazz fire have left their mark, this music can unambiguously embrace rock as readiIy as it follows up on the teasing spatial explorations favoured by members of the AACM. Coloration is extended by Vandermark's evident proficiency on B flat and bass clarinets, but throughout, taut and concise soloing serves the needs of an integrated group sound.
On Simpatico each composit on has a dedicatee. These range from bebop trombonist Frank Rosolino to saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, from bassist Curtis Counce, who worked with Clifford Brown and Stan Kenton, to clarinettist John Carter, who is best known for his collaborations with trumpeter Bobby Bradford. The diversity is not arbitrary. The Vandermark 5 have been tempered through immersion in this variegated tradition. Their respect for the tradition manifests itself in their sure-footed playing rather than by self-conscious and faci e allusion, and that s the hallmark of The Vandermark 5's current dynamism.
Ken Vandermark — Bass and Bb Clarinets/Tenor Saxophone
Jeb Bishop — Guitar/Trombone
Kent Kessler — Bass
Tim Mulvenna — Drums
Dave Rempis — Alto Saxophone
1. STHLM /Vandermark/ (8:21) for Mats Gustafsson
2. Cover to Cover /Vandermark/ (9:28) for Frank Butler
3. Full Deck /Vandermark/ (6:19) for Jack Montrose
4. Point Blank /Vandermark/ (8:33) for Frank Rosolino
5. 4 4 4 /Vandermark/ (14:17)
6. Lost and Found /Vandermark/ (6:28)
7. Vent /Vandermark/ (7:16) for Glenn Spearman
Time: 60:38
Recorded November & December 1998, Empty Bottle, Chicago.
© 2000–2012 NoNaMe