Digital

Ab Baars

1997

""Netherlands reed king Ab Baars has played with everyone from Guus Janssen to Franz Koglmann and led his own wonderfully playful avant quartet. But Verderame marks his first outing unaccompanied and takes an unusual understated tack. Over the course of nine originals -- many of them tributes to friends and inspirations -- and a gorgeous reworking of Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom," Baars offers a wonderfully personal album of warm reflections, tender microtonal explorations, and quick-witted charm.""

Spaceways Inc.

2002

Joe McPhee & John Heward

2008

Lean Left

2010

"Fist two volumes from this powerful punk-rock-free jazz-improvised music quartet integrated by Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love, Andy Moor & Terrie Hessels."

Lean Left

2010

"Fist two volumes from this powerful punk-rock-free jazz-improvised music quartet integrated by Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love, Andy Moor & Terrie Hessels."

Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet

2012

Diskaholics Anonymous Trio

2006

The Chicago Reed Quartet

2016

"Four generations of Chicago saxophonists join forces in this collaborative quartet, each one separated in age by almost exactly ten years. This wasn’t a calculated decision when Rempis and Vandermark first brainstormed the idea of the group in late 2013. The lineup came together based purely on the musical affinity of the personalities involved. (Oddly enough, Mazzarella and Williams had also been discussing the idea of forming a saxophone quartet at that time). However, the complex web of musical collaborations between these four musicians in countless combinations dating back twenty-five years, as well as their differing perspectives on composition, improvisation, and the instruments themselves, combine to reveal a truly cross-sectional perspective on the Chicago improvised music scene. Although an unintended consequence of the lineup that Rempis and Vandermark initiated, this accidental result may be one of the most intriguing perspectives from which to look at the quartet’s music. These eight pieces, two compositions from each of the band members, were workshopped extensively in 2014, with regular rehearsals and concerts in Chicago throughout the winter and spring. This recording was made mostly in one day, all in single takes, on a laid-back, closed-door, summer afternoon session at Chicago’s Hungry Brain. And within these eight pieces, one can hear an ongoing artistic dialogue that stretches back for decades."

Resonance Ensemble

2012

Evan Parker & Joe McPhee

2013

"On a sultry July evening on an intimate stage at Kongsberg Jazz Festival, Norway, two elder statesmen of improvised music – one wearing a grey shirt, the other sporting a T-shirt with the legend ‘Thunder Pussy’ – stepped up to the platform. What followed resembled an in depth conversation between two old friends and sparring partners – one that ranged from the amicable to the argumentative, from hush to harmony. “What/If/They Both Could Fly” is only the second time this titanic pair have appeared as a duo on record. Their paths have crossed sporadically over the years: Evan has guested in Joe’s Survival Unit III group, and they have frequently made up a trio with saxophonist Daunik Lazro. But their only release together has been “Chicago Tenor Duets”, back in 2000, praised in Jazz Times for its mixture of lyricism and complexity. Evan Parker was 68 when this concert was recorded and by now music just seems to beat within him, sure as his own heartbeat. McPhee, at 73, is the elder here, but his zaps of energy on the tiny pocket trumpet, and his thoughtful, exploratory lines and throbbing soprano sax overtones are played as vigorously as a man half his age. Listen to the amazing zigzags of interlocking sound about six minutes into opening track ‘What’. Hear the microtonal mayhem swarming at the start of ‘They Both Could Fly’. The duo never seek to dazzle with virtuosity, but their total mastery of their instruments allows them to dance around each other and match each other’s moves point for point and blow for blow. Play this and you’ll believe two men can fly."

Audio One

2015

"Strong, interesting compositions. Excellent, opinionated musicians. Passionate, committed playing, full of energy. Brilliant album (Eyal Hareuveni, The Free Jazz Collective)"

Mats Gustafsson

1999

"Windows is an important step in Gustafsson's career, evidencing a mature combination of technical prowess, conceptual rigor, and sublimated passion. Highly recommended."

Marker

2017

""Vandermark’s music is a moving target. Wired For Sound was recorded in September 2017, and since then the group has toured the Southern USA. If their final Chicago date, which occurred a couple weeks after that tour, is any indication, they’ve grown more fearless and forceful. Here’s hoping that this band stays together for a spell; it’d be great to hear what comes next." -Bill Meyer, Dusted Magazine, March 19, 2018 "5 stars" -Gustav Lindqvist, The Free Jazz Collective, February 21, 2018 "

Rempis/Harnik/Zerang

2016

"n the fall of 2013, Rempis and Zerang had just finished a week in Krakow, Poland, working with Ken Vandermark’s Resonance Ensemble. They continued on to perform as a duo at concerts in Warsaw and Vienna, before meeting Harnik in her hometown of Graz, Austria to explore this first-time trio grouping at a well-known concert venue called WIST. Happily, Austrian National Radio (ORF) got wind of the occasion, and decided to make a recording for live broadcast, a document presented here. "

Otomo Yoshihide / Ozeki Mikito / Mats Gustafsson

2009

Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love

2010

Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love

2014

Mats Gustafsson and Yoshimi

2007

Ballister

2015

"The fifth release by this powerful working trio in as many years shows a band once again not afraid to come out of the gate swinging. As always, these three individual virtuosos combine their unique talents to put forth a churning mix of hard-driving grooves and well-forged power. However, as the band has continued to work and tour together regularly for the past five years, their music continues to find new avenues of expression. On this recording, Worse For The Wear, Ballister’s trademark raw energy is tempered by a mix of introspective soundscapes and moments of quiet beauty that create a listening experience of great complexity. Recorded live in Chicago during the trio’s spring 2014 U.S. Tour, this release shows a band that continues to grow, slowly and patiently, further refining its sound into a tightly structured unit of remarkable depth and richness."

Mats Gustafsson & Jim O?Rourke

1999