Free Jazz

Stay with me here.

Ken Vandermark is amazing. He's a sax player based in Chicago and is one of the driving forces in improvised music today. I'm sure most people shut down entirely when the words free jazz flash through their mind like a signpost for a road that you never ever want to end up on, but if you can deal with a bit of discomfort, if you can pay close attention and open your mind to identify and connect influences and avenues, then there's a lot to love in this music.

When I was in Portugal, in Lisbon, the proprietor of what would become my favorite bar--a place called Bar Lisboa--turned me on to a Vandermark project called Tripleplay. It's a trio, improvised music, very powerful stuff and very connected to Portugal. (Funny that there's such a strong following for this music there--back to the Euro support of jazz in the absence of it in its birthplace.)

I recently came across a review for a record Vandermark put out last year, called Elements of Style, Exercises in Surprise. All it took was a single listen to the muscular movement, the solid riff that anchors the opening track, and I was hooked. Check the link, you can listen. Give it a shot. The whole thing is up for download on emusic--grab the track called Knock Yourself Out and see if you don't agree.