THE VANDERMARK 5 — A Discontinuous Line (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Given the title and dedication of the Vandermark 5's 2006 issue A Discontinuous Line, with two of its pieces being dedicated to architects/filmmakers Charles and Ray Eames ("Convertible, Version One" and "Convertible, Version Two" respectively), and other discontinuous line musicians, architects, and artists such as the late Philip Wilson, Elliot Carter, Sergio Leone, Giorgio de Chirico, Walker Evans, and the great Santiago Calatrava, it is compelling to examine the music along these parameters. Ken Vandermark's writing has grown more formal in recent years, with the places for improvisation marked out. Here, the compositions themselves breathe more, the lines are looser and based on rhythmic ideas and feel rather than formalist notions. Thus, the first "Convertible" piece sounds, upon first hearing, like a loosely conceived improvisation, but the way lines come out of the rhythm section and then the horns, is remarkable because nothing could be further form the truth. Rhythm is the very place of generation; this is true on both "Convertibles," as it were, but that generation follows a harmonic idea from start to finish, and the edgy improvisation inside that idea has the capability of expanding it into another sonic universe heard only by the players as they make the music. The tough, Monk-like swing at the genus of "Reciprocal" has its own way of cracking its own spine to allow for minor-key improvisation on the bass clarinet by Vandermark, who examines the melodic notion from all sides and creates a new one as the piece continues to move and even swing in places. Also, Fred Lonberg-Holm's cello adds not only to the rhythm section, but acts as an engaged rhythmic improviser on whom contrapuntal ideas are regularly juxtaposed against or bounced off until complex, "free" improvisation takes hold of the unit. Monk's persona once more enters the corpus of the Vandermark 5's rigorous playfulness on "Aperture," where a bluesy swinging theme is held by Vandermark's baritone and Kent Kessler's bass until Lonberg-Holm enters to bridge the two, and then it's Dave Rempis on the alto that flies loose of the melody, understanding its modality enough, and its rhythm, to strut off the ledge and seek. This is another remarkable set by the Vandermark 5, a unit that plays together now so effortlessly, even with new addition of Lonberg-Holm, whose manners bring colors and textures to this deliciously and deliriously joyful yet utterly complex music; he's a welcome addition. A Discontinuous Line is full of them, but that's where the listener comes in, to move the music further in discourse by taking it in. 
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1.    Convertible, Version One (For Charles Eames)    8:39
2.    Reciprocal (For Santiago Calatrava)    7:40
3.    La Dernier Cri (For Elliot Carter)    7:48
4.    Some Not All (For Phillip Wilson)    13:46
5.    Aperture (For Walker Evans)    6:45
6.    Morricone (For Sergio Leone)    7:00
7.    Convertible, Version Two (For Ray Eames)    6:26
8.    The Ladder (For Giorgio De Chirico)    10:50
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Dave Rempis
Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet [Bb], Composed By – Ken Vandermark
Bass – Kent Kessler
Cello – Fred Lonberg-Holm
Drums – Tim Daisy

KEN VANDERMARK — The Field Within a Line (2021) Serie Black Cross Solo Sessions – 1 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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. bandcamp.com
Tracklist :
1.    Feet On Main (For Robert Frank & Gordon Parks)     1:32
2.    Imagine The Paper (For Philip Guston & Dieter Roth)     5:14
3.    Arcade Of Persuasive Language (Samuel Beckett & Thomas Bernhard)     4:42
4.    Portable Nowhere (For Robert Irwin & Richard Serra)     6:11
5.    Shared Testament (For Joe McPhee & Stu Vandermark)     1:04
6.    End The Giraffe Lottery (For Chris Marker & Agnes Varda)    4:57
7.    Counter Space (For Francis Bacon & Kerry James Marshall)     4:33
8.    Every Waiting Room (For Chantall Akerman & Pina Bausch)     1:17
9.    No Other Suit (For Anthony Braxton & Coleman Hawkins)     3:47
10.    Another Household Word (For Robert Bresson & Abbas Kiarostami)     6:15
11.    Capture Chaos (For Tarsila Do Amaral & Hélio Oiticica)     0:43
12.    Looking Back At Looking Forward (For Ola Trzaska & Marek Winiarski)     8:45
Credits :
Recorded, Reeds, Music By [All Music By], Liner Notes – Ken Vandermark