Digital

c.o.d.e.

2008

"The music on this album varies between real boppy tunes, highly rhythmic and clearly structured around the core themes on the one hand, and free explorations on the other. "

Olle Bonniér

2005

John Butcher / Tony Buck / Magda Mayas / Burkhard Stangl

2013

"These two high profile trios are all inventiveness, and this is reflected in the way they were formed, as much as in the music itself. There is a tangled web of connections at play between the four improvisers, through a history of past collaborations, one to one or in larger formations, some occasional, some more structural; the trios on this CD were chosen for their potential, for the not-knowing as much as the knowing, and that’s what we hear; accomplished and profoundly involved music in the making, pushed forward by an ever renewed and intense ability to connect. -Unsounds"

The Ex

1985

"The Ex, with 'Pokkeherrie' have produced a masterful killer weapon of raw power that rattles up the spine into numbed pink brain cells and fills the vacuum with social issue"

Nate Wooley & Peter Evans

2016

"It is fascinating, bewildering, extraordinary. Even if Nate Wooley and Peter Evans are "jazz musicians", there is no jazz to be heard here. This is ambient music, dark and horrifying, solemn, majestic and overpowering. And uncompromising. -Stef, Free Jazz Blog"

Gunwhale

2016

"Albert Wildeman is Gunwale's secret weapon. He propels the group with roly-poly stabs on his bass, all accents and rhythmic tumble, that bring unfailing allegiance from drummer Ryan Packard & inspiration to saxophonist Dave Rempis. -Tom Burris, Free Jazz Blog"

Jaap Blonk

"...certainly invites itself to be played again and again, which I think is what music on a physical release should be all about, so I would prefer this one over the previous. Blonk has successfully re-invented what he is doing, and explores new roads here. - Vital Weekly, Netherlands"

Mats Gustafsson / Kurt Newman / Mike Gennaro

1999

Joe McPhee / Dominic Duval / Michael Bisio / Raymond Boni

2006

"Port of Saints describes an epic journey whose main character is the saxophone. A guitar acts as the saxophone's alter ego. Two basses supply avuncular guide posts for traveling to an unknowable but certain destination. The journey is rife both with fantasy and human spirit. -Lynn Horton, All About Jazz"

Made to Break

2013

"If Made to Break’s album “Lacerba” deals with futurism, “Provoke” picks up the thread as to musical structure and philosophical references. Although the music is composed “the material is modular and parts can be combined spontaneously by the various members of the band, so the structure is improvised as well as the solos,” Ken Vandermark said. The three titles of the tracks make up the sentence “Further presentation of the facts” and they are dedicated to influential geniuses of the 20th century – John Cage, Buckminster Fuller and Marshall McLuhan."

Elisabeth Harnik & Christoff Kurzmann

2021

"All donations received from the sale of this album will go to the Flüchtlingsprojekt Ute Bock ("Refugee Project Ute Bock") "

Kuzu

2020

"As Coltrane drew from jazz, gospel, and Eastern music, Kuzu do too, updating their approach with rock, metal and the tools of free jazz. We hear Rempis' patented rip, tear, crunch sound, but also there is a tranquility about this music not found in most free jazz. - Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

Christine Abdelnour & Chris Corsano

2019

"""Below The Hull" pairs moisture and thumps, and "The Mended Lid" displays Morse code wind and head-high squeal in high speed discourse. When the pair do eventually resort to more "normal" sounding sax/drum interplay ("Sitting Still While the House Next Door Burns"), it comes as a surprise, another facet of their constructions. Turn the diamond in your fingers and listen to the the light dance." - Jeph Jerman, Squid's Ear"

Brandon Lopez

2018

"In the first four tracks there are moments of respite and beauty amidst the chaos. After Pa, the sounds are harsher and it is a violent new landscape. There is a sense throughout the second half of desperately trying to get somewhere but being unable to do so. By transforming into this brutality, the album lives up to its name. - Anna Heflin"

Zu / Spaceways Inc.

2004

Rara Avis

2015

"Here, Ken Vandermark is joined by Italian musicians Stefano Ferrian (tenor saxophone), Simone Quatrana (piano), Luca Pissavini (double bass), and SEC_ (Revox tape recorder, instant sound treatment). This album was recorded live on May 5th, 2013, at the Dragon Club in Poland, and it highlights the superb interplay and improvisational skill of the Rara Avis quintet."

Joe Morris, Ben Hall, Andria Nicodemou

2017

Steam

2000

"With such a diverse number of projects to his name Vandermark’s output can be kind of intimidating. Proper points of ingress into his work are highly subjective and dependent on what side of Vandermark’s multifarious personality you want to explore. Few if any of his releases capture all of his interests, but this one comes close to showing off all of his major traits as a player and it does so in a highly accessible setting."

Joe Morris / Ken Vandermark / Luther Gray

2007

"One moment will have you holding your breath and the next will spur you to relax and slowly let your breath go. These three players never choose the highways when there are other roads to travel; you never know in which direction they’re going to turn. When the trio arrive at its destination, you’ll want to make the journey again: back to the first track. Another listening, another impression of this detailed recording’s nuances."

Red Nation

2017

"Where a collagist would add and subtract in a studio mix, Daisy creates these sounds, amazingly, without overdubs. The scratchy dream-state wobble of "Concord Citizen" floats as lightly as a cloud with ghost voices as musical seasoning. —Mark Corroto, All about Jazz"