Search - Vandermark 5 :: Airports For Light

Junkmedia.org Review - Exploratory ...

junkmedia | Los Angeles, CA | 03/25/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Chicago-based multi-reed master Ken Vandermark continues to deliver the goods year after year, most notably with his finest ensemble to date, the Vandermark 5. Although Vandermark records numerous albums each year with different collaborators, it is the V5 that has proven to be his most successful, both creatively and popularly. The three-horn fronted quintet covers all the bases of jazz tradition, from supple swing to hair-raising free jazz. Vandermark's ability to integrate the primal elements of rock music, however, has made him the cross-over darling of the indie community.Airports for Light opens with muted horns playing a relaxed angular melody that subsequently explodes in a rush of bop fury. Dual horn lines weave in and out before crashing into a quiet, pointilistic call and response section. Before the first cut ends, Vandermark treats us to one of his patented "rock" sections. Finally, the track closes with Vandermark's tenor sax absolutely storming through the changes, in a way only a jazz musician familiar with "real" rock music can.Still, while his typical writing style is heavily influenced by free jazz, he never allows it to dominate the group's output. Gentle swing, luscious ballad work and atmospheric noir balance out the album's more aggressive sections. Indeed, the cut "Both Sides" is perhaps one of the most gently swinging tunes Vandermark has ever penned; "Long Form Fool" is definitely one of his most somber ballads. Yes, free jazz is a present influence, but never overly so.Case in point, Airports for Light closes with the sort of ragged ensemble theme that is classically reminiscent of a 1960s era free jazz head melody. It builds into a free-form collective blowing section and then snaps seamlessly into a muscular baritone sax solo anchored solely by walking bass and swinging drums. What initially seems like a potentially cacophonous excursion becomes an irresistibly catchy closer.Airports for Light, is further proof that the Vandermark 5 is Ken's finest outlet for his diverse writing abilities. It's nice to hear an artist whose take on jazz tradition doesn't end at 1959, but instead sees the entire spectrum of popular music as valid for exploration. And you don't get much more exploratory than the Vandermark 5.Troy Collins
Junkmedia.org Review"

Why Jazz is an American and not a Canadian Artform

J. Rutecki | Columbus,OH | 08/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This review is actually written to clear up the preposterous assertions made in the Toronto review contained above (or below). Some of the bogus assertions made by this "student" of Jazz include:



"Vandermark's a decent R&B player..."



Obviously ignorant to the continued evolution of jazz and improv music over the last thirty years, the author of the inaccurate review pigeonholes Vandermark as an R&B reedist. Obviously Miles Davis was a fine Rock and Roll trumpeter on his "Bitches Brew" album, Sun Ra was the prototypical concept funk rocker with "Space is the Place", and Ornette Coleman was a bleary eyed lunatic with no clue as to what jazz was when he released "Free Jazz". Jazz music has a myriad of influences, some of which include blues, r&b, rock, classical, hip hop and electronica. Assuming that this album has an R&B influence (which I feel is minimal),Mr. Toronto is downgrading the music for having influences (gasp!) outside of jazz. Not to mention the fact that if the listener was in any way familiar with Ken's work in the Peter Brotzmann Tentet or Spaceways, Inc (a Sun Ra/Funkadelic cover group-not very R&B), this assertion would never be made.



"He tends to be conspicuously outclassed by his sidemen..."



Imagine the horror of having talented musicians in your band. As if that is a detrement to your finished product. His band is VERY GOOD. Jeb Bishop is a solid trobone player, with a cournocopia of mutes with which to coax different sounds. Dave Rempis is one of Chicago's most exciting young saxophonists. Both of these musicians' eponymous bands show that Jeb and Dave have excellent compositional technique in addition to their fluent technical vocabulary. Kent Kessler is also accomplished, first meeting up with Ken Vandermark in the near-legendary NRG Ensemble, led by Hal Russell, THE free jazz musician of the 1980's. The Toronto review points out Tim Daisy as the weak link, saying that he has,"only a rough idea of how to play jazz," and that he "never studied jazz drumming seriously." Let me be the first to ask, "Where did you get that notion from?" Tim Daisy studied for years under another notable jazz drummer (maybe Toronto has heard of him-Tim Mulvenna-former drummer for ther Vandermark 5). He also plays vibraphone (a talent he no doubt picked up NOT studying music academically) and composes music for another Okkadisk stalwart Triage. Not only is the backing band solid-they are great and have the credentials to back them up. Ken Vandermark is, however, the genius that holds it all together. He plays five different reed instruments including a mean baritone sax on "Confluence". His MacArthur Genius grant suggests that like other grant recipients such as Cecil Taylor, he can play in a wide variety of musical styles outside of R&B. The assertions made by the previous ratings post are absurd.

The review also notes that the CD comes with a Sonny Rollins bonus disk. The last four releases by the V5 have come with a bonus Free Jazz Classics disk. The first two (from "Acoustic Machine" and "Simpatico") are available in one package on this site entitled "Free Jazz Classics, Vol. 1 and 2", I believe. The new album "Elements of Style, Excercises in Surprise" comes with a disk of Roland Kirk covers. They more than likely will be released together by Atavistic at a later date. And of course Vandermark covering Rasaan Roland Kirk, considered by many to be the greatest saxophone soloist of all time, proves that this R&B reedist has more than one trick up his sleeve.

This is an outstanding album, a great starting point for somebody looking to get a feel for the direction of modern free improv. I only wish it would have been more educational for my neighbor to the North.



Jared Rutecki

Columbus,OH"

Check out the drumming!

Mickey Shipwreck | Island J, Brigstocke Township, N. Ontario | 04/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're familiar with the Vandermark 5, and haven't heard this, you should check it out. While Tim Mulvenna is a great drummer, V5's new drummer, Tim Daisy, is one of the greatest I've ever heard. Just a baby, but he has the sustaining power of an Elvin Jones. Saw them performing this material live in March: an exhilarating inexhaustibility of ideas!"