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CD
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CVSD 125CD
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It's not a stretch to say that saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark's path into creative music was paved by Joe McPhee. In particular, McPhee's landmark 1976 LP Tenor -- recorded casually in a Swiss chalet and featuring four new compositions that effortlessly combined experimentation and lyricism -- was Vandermark's ear-opener. The two musicians would go on to begin a fruitful working relationship in 1996, a partnership that continues today, and now Vandermark has paid homage to his friend and mentor with a suite of compositions and improvisations. These solo works, performed on an array of horns (clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone and of course tenor saxophone), are as melodious and unapologetically beautiful as anything in Vandermark's oeuvre, interweaving tremendous swells of emotion and ingenious linear inventions. Vandermark played the six pieces in the suite in front of an invited audience at Corbett vs. Dempsey, the gallery's natural acoustic drawing out every nuance of his playing. He augmented the suite, each part of which is named for a flower with significance to McPhee or Vandermark, with several powerful free improvisations, all titled after "filler flowers," making the entire program a bouquet for Mr. McPhee. Exquisitely documented by Alex Inglizian, with cover art by Arch Connelly and liner notes by Vandermark.
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CD
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CVSD 080CD
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With his riveting performance in the inaugural Sequesterfest online festival in April 2020, Ken Vandermark inspired the Black Cross Solo Sessions. Already in the early days of lockdown, making good on the promise -- or threat -- of protracted off-road time, Vandermark had dedicated himself to the creation of a new book of works for solo reed instruments, which he debuted that day. The result of this watershed moment for the Chicago-based improvisor and composer was a body of works that reassert his seriousness and test his ability to reflect and reevaluate. The compositions, which are platforms for invention, are dealt with in relatively economical, almost stripped-down fashion, ringing with a kind of bell-like clarity and focus. Most tracks are on the shorter side, straight to the point, featuring the rippling intensity that is a Vandermark hallmark, but with an altogether reborn sense of purpose. Pieces are dedicated to filmmakers, photographers, and painters, musicians, choreographers, and writers, pointing outward from the hermetic situation of the pandemic to a network of creative icons. Recorded at home in the detailed chamber sonics of his living room, they offer a bulwark against adversity -- the triumph of an endlessly questing mind over the terror of enforced stasis. Liner notes by Vandermark, cover art and design by Christopher Wool.
Corbett vs. Dempsey on Black Cross Solo Sessions: "In our lifetime. We hear this phrase repeated often these days. About things we have never experienced. The sense of global isolation imposed by COVID-19 has literally given us pause, required reflection on something unique in our lifetime. Musicians have been particularly hard hit by the virus, its travel bans and supply chain clogs. They faced an exaggerated number of unfamiliar conditions, many of them adverse, some of them career threatening and anxiety provoking. All of a sudden, players who were accustomed to the constant refreshment of different partners in shifting circumstances found themselves alone at home. But... what better time, we thought, to make a solo record? A production collaboration between artist Christopher Wool and Corbett vs. Dempsey, Black Cross Solo Sessions culminates in eight individual responses to the predicament of creative music during this unprecedented moment in our lifetime. All of the BCSS packages feature artwork by Wool, a distinctive black cross image that has been a part of some of his work since the outset of the pandemic, in this case decisively laid atop images of his paintings. The musicians have worked under a range of conditions, recording where possible -- at home, out in the world, or in the studio -- and each release has its own backstory, a highly contingent tale that speaks to the adaptability of creative musicians, their resilience and power in the face of a devastating obstacle. A personal statement. A singular response. The solo record is a special challenge. Nowhere to hide, no place to run."
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