Wednesday, October 28, 2009

When Five Was Four...


I came to the Vandermark 5 through a buddy who was deep into the music of the Chicago improv scene. Thanks, Mark!
Once upon a time a young Ken Vandermark made his way to Chicago from Boston. He just wanted to play. So he started his own band. That was back in the early 90's - before Atavistic, before the McArthur Genius Prize, before the Vandermark 5 (and the other countless bands he plays in). He formed the Vandermark Four and recorded Big Head Eddie for the Platypus Records label in February 1993. The group was made up of Ken Vandermark on reeds, Todd Colburn on guitar, Kent Kessler on bass, and Michael Zerang on drums.

The playlist is:

1. Kiss the Plow (4:53)
2. Exploding Note Theory (6:44)
3. Dog Cliches (4:35)
4. Jack Kirby Was Ripped Off (5:31)
5. Last Date (6:27)
6. Blue Coffee (3:56)
7. Ingrid's Napkin #29 (12:06)
8. Courtesy Desk (5:15)
9. Sinner Sinner (7:29)
10. Not Actual Size (3:56)

It's interesting to hear how Ken's concept of composition and group interplay has developed over the years...


Enjoy!

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