Digital

McPhee / Brötzmann / Kessler / Zerang

2009

"While the players can (and do) perform volatile energy jazz here, their preference is for music that's dissectible enough for the players to be distinguished in parts and direction. The breadth and power of these four players comes through with an exhaustive clarity in this crisp and vigorous live recording. -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

The Ex

1990

"A direct attack on the commercialisation of indie music and the creaky industries that support its mass market consumption. The Ex are still committed naturals in an over exposed and hyped arena."

Michiyo Yagi, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten & Paal Nilssen-Love

2017

"1. Cascades [30:14] 2. Low End Brew [18:37] 3. Derek & the Domino Theory [12:50] All music by Yagi (Hotwire Inc.), Håker Flaten (TONO) and Nilssen-Love (TONO/Cien Fuegos) except ttack 3 by Yago, Håker Flaten, Nilssen-Love and Kaiser (Fractal Music/BMI) "

Michiyo Yagi / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love

2017

DKV Trio & Joe Morris

1999

"First studio meeting of Joe Morris and the DKV Trio (Hamid Drake/percussion, Kent Kessler/bass & Ken Vandermark/reeds). "The music on this recording began with the most basic materials: sound, silence, motion, interval, duration and emotion. We started to play without any words, written material or agreed structure and within a couple of minutes we knew it would work. Our agenda seemed to be that we would musically talk with each other. We told each other what we know. We played to make something different, to create another experience for whomever listens. It remains to personal interpretation, to be described by the people who listen." —Joe Morris"

Ken Vandermark & Nate Wooley

2018

"This third offering from Wooley and Vandermark is easy to recommend, especially to the already initiated, but there is something- from the gentler melodies to the fierce runs- to engage all eager ears. -Paul Acquaro, Free Jazz Blog"

Sarah Peebles

2013

"The music of ‘Delicate Paths’ features acoustic shō solos and group improvisations with Evan Parker, Nilan Perera and Suba Sankaran, electroacoustic works, and highlights unusual approaches to recording the shō... The listening experience is contemplative and sensuous, immersing one in the luminous sound of this traditional instrument, approached in a contemporary way."

Rob Mazurek

2019

"The band is seriously locked-in, particularly the drummer and bassist, who provide a springy, ever-morphing foundation for the leader’s clarion pocket trumpet excursions - Peter Margasak"

Steel Bridge Trio

2015

""It seems everything he plays is well, musical. These pieces reflect a mature composer and a sensitive player." "This is brilliant stuff." —Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

LOPEZ 4tet

2020

Diskaholics Anonymous Trio

2001

"The trio creates a pulsing, massive and monumental sound. Free-jazz, noise, electronic ambience, drone music and punk all mixed. The result of these three titans clashing together is an intense blow-out. Raw, grandiose and brutally beautiful. The album features three long improvisational tracks: "Three Collectors of Bird Note", "Totally Gump (Gump Completist)", & "Yellow Label Silence". Cover art by Thurtson Moore and Kim Gordon`s daughter Coco Hayley Gordon Moore."

Made to Break

2016

"Dispatch From The Sea highlights the unique interplay between Vandermark and Kurzmann. Surprisingly, their interaction is quite physical given that Kurzmann plays only on a laptop, often a confrontational one, sometimes Kurzmann even takes the subversive role of deconstructing the loose architecture of this piece and suggesting a futuristic one (Eyal Hareuveni, The Free Jazz Collective)"

Atomic / School Days

2008

"This is wonderful fun to hear. This is not boundary-shifting music, nor does it aspire to great artistic achievements. But it's a great performance by a band (or is it two bands?) that really starts benefiting from playing a lot together. I would love to see this band perform live."

The Ex

1980

"This is prime stuff. It's primitive when compared with their current wide-ranging output, but even then they were embellishing their their scratchy politico-punk with some interesting instrumental touches. Morse code keyboards, a chipped-flint guitar sound, distorted vocals, and the rhythm section's implacable forward motion make this worth a listen even if you don't care what they had to say."

The Ex

2001

"Dizzy Spells is good. Oh, it's damn good, all right. The Ex are experts at effectively jarring dissonance, but they're not just noisy, either; they're well versed in creating musical chaos. Granted, melody isn't too common, but when it does show up somewhere in the din, it's all the more welcoming. —Spencer Owen, Pitchfork"

The Rempis/Daisy Duo & Guests

2018

"Dodecahedron is the pair's third duo recording, and it follows Second Spring (Aerophonic, 2014) and Back To The Circle (Okka, 2005). Both discs are taken from live performances. Disc one is made up of three duets between Rempis and Daisy, while disc two adds a third guest on each of its nine tracks. -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

Resonance Ensemble

2015

"“Double Arc” is the culmination of projects conceived by Ken Vandermark written for the large working group the Resonance Ensemble. An assemblage of influences as wide ranging as film scores, 50’s NYC composers, 60’s free jazz, 70’s African funk, etc., “Double Arc” is an epic work that is creatively stimulating, foot stomping, and at times maddening music."

AALY Trio?/?DKV Trio

2002

"Built on a recording chassis similar to Ornette Coleman’s seminal Free Jazz the disc divides the trios along the convenient demarcation of stereo channels."

Bradford / Gjerstad / Nilssen-Love

2012

"Legendary West Coast cornetist Bobby Bradford meets two Norwegians - drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and multi-reedist Frode Gjerstad - for a live performance at Klub Dragon in Poland. A free outing, the 6 tracks are relatively short, with "Pitaya" the longest at 11 minutes. The dialog is often quite subtle and well informed, using extended techniques and unusual twists and turns that are fascinating to follow. Which isn't to say that the trio doesn't fire up some serious power playing at points, but these three masters find their true language in intelligent interaction, of which there is no end to in these wonderful recordings. Highly recommended."

The Vandermark 5

1997