[.ca] Single Piece Flow

From Amazon.com:
Awarded a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship (colloquially called a "genius grant"), saxophonist and bandleader Ken Vandermark outdid even himself on this 1997 outing. His Vandermark 5 group--but one of the numerous outfits in whose ranks he blows maelstroms of saxophone--never sounded better than on these intricate, often thrashing tunes. Vandermark has a highly developed palette, both in terms of his writing for a quintet and in terms of his own playing, which has rib-rocking properties that blast through on a bunch of these tunes. The band skates across a revised hard bop that gets a couple of new edges from free jazz and punk without ever leaving the realm of riff-centric, solo-heavy acoustic jazz. There's Jeb Bishop (himself a trombone ace) on the 'bone and grinding guitar, Tim Mulvenna on flying drums, Chicago mainstay Kent Kessler on bass, and the astounding Mars Williams--charter member of Liquid Soul and longtime anchor of both Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble and the post-Hal NRG unit--on saxophones, as well. The music verily blares, with clarion blowing and a thrilling energy pervading every moment here. Pivotal '90s listening. --Andrew Bartlett

Cathartic, Swinging Jazz:
I just received this album this morning and have listened to it twice. I'm sure more details will emerge, but nobody's reviewed this disc yet, so here goes. An awesome chamber jazz ensemble which is rooted in hard bop and free jazz, with r & b and punk trappings thrown in. While Vandermark is clearly the leader, his backup is steller. Jeb Bishop is soulful on trombone and wicked on electric guitar - in fact, I wish more tracks featured his slashing punk-influenced chords and feedback-laced solos. A great disc, and one which interests me in expanding my collection to include their other discs. For lovers of jazz, rock, and any music with teeth - think Gang of Four meets Albert Ayler.

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