Tenacious collaboration stands as one of the most identifiable facets of Ken Vandermark’s musical credo. In the early Nineties he set about forging alliances that continue to yield a plurality of working groups today. Caffeine, Steam, DKV, V5, Territory Band, FJF, Free Fall, Sound and Action- these bands and others stock Vandermark’s vitae and provide accommodating pockets for his peregrinating esthetics. He’s also not reticent about combining them together as strong outings by his double quartet (Utility Hitter on Quinnah) and the AALY/DKV merger (Double or Nothing also on Okkadisk) attest.
The body of precedence saps some of the surface surprise from Nuclear Assembly Hall, the latest accord teaming the plaudit-earning Norwegian quintet Atomic and the Vandermark-founded collective School Days, but there are still plenty of thrills in store. Roll call on the resulting aggregate reads as follows: Vandermark and Ljungkvist on reeds, Magnus Broo and Jeb Bishop on brass, Hårvard Wiik on keys, Kjell Nordeson on vibes, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on upright and Paal Nilssen-Love taking names on traps.
The ninety-odd minute program spans two discs and draws on the nine compositions, the majority scripted by the Scandinavians. Vandermark’s quill yields only the grand finale “Bulletin” tagged with his customary dedication, this time to the shutterbug icon Weegee. His deference translates beautifully into the arrangements, which accord plenty of solo space for all involved and an assortment of combinations. A premium does seem to be placed on cramming as many twists and turns as possible into the music. Like that notorious ride at an amusement park the ensemble’s compositions feature no shortage of hairpin turns, drops, loop-de-loops and ear-lurching shifts in direction. The outcome is often either exhilaration or vertigo depending on one’s tolerance and taste.
Wiik’s bright and breezy “Light Compulsion” is a welcome exception to this apparent rule and a feature for Ljungvist’s lush tenor. “W Meets A” hits like the bubbly spray from a champagne bottle struck against ship’s bow, and is constructed on a supple substructure of riffing horns, ostinato bass, choppy drums and melodically charged mallets on planks. Wiik’s jaunty center solo deals out turbulent clusters from a set of closely miked ivories, feeding hungrily on the blustery energy advanced by the reeds and brass.
Riffing horns steer the Broo piece “Transparent Taylor” sliding lyrically against the elastic bounce of the Flaten-fueled rhythm section. The composer claims first solo crack, spouting off cantankerously as his band mates comment above and beneath him. A rip-snorting joust between tenors comes next as Nilssen-Love carves out a complementary pounding surf from behind his kit. Dusky verdant interplay foliates Flaten’s “Green Wood” as Vandermark’s alternately piercing and pensive clarinet swings through an airy arboreal expanse erected by piano, bass, vibes and drums. Several ensemble passages unfold before Flaten’s bass peeks through the harmonic branches and has the final say. Nordeson’s “Ink Worm” turns the tables in a four-way exchange between the horns that solidifies into another hard swinging riff piece. Suddenly the bottom drops out leaving the composer’s mallets in floating conversation with a revolving cast of chirruping instruments.
Disc two contains four more compositions beginning with Bishop's “Conjugations,” which builds from a shrill layering of clarinets and the composer’s telegraphing trombone. Flaten sets up a fleet chugging bass line and series of rousing fractional gatherings comes to pass. Broos smears and slurs expressively on top of a bustling backdrop. Flaten and Nordesson trade playful rhythmically ripe punches. Finally Bishop, muted and gnarly, spreads sibilant growls over another floating counterpoint from Love, Wiik and Nordesson. Vandermark ties things off on meaty baritone, shaping rock-ribbed lines against a dusky vamp set forth by Wiik. Nilssen-Love’s “Dog Days” spreads like an opaque intoxicating substance set free from a fractured perfume bottle. A pair of floating ensemble sections bookend the querulous tussle between Ljungvist’s clarinet and Vandermark’s baritone.
Taking into account their close stylistic ties, the snug fit between these two bands might not seem like much of a feat. But such a dismissal would be an egregious case of selling them short. Where they succeed best is in the ability to operate cooperatively without compromising a driving forward momentum and decisive deployment of resources. Each band is well worth hearing individually. In light of this simple realization the success of their merger makes perfect sense.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on May 23, 2004 8:32 PMNice, descriptive, review, Derek. I'm treating these as two seperate albums and just working my way through the first disc at the moment.
By the way, the double trio recording is called "Double or Nothing".
Posted by: gnhrtg at May 27, 2004 4:22 AMThanks for the positive feedback & pointing out that error, Gökhan. Please post your thoughts on the discs once you’ve had some time with them; I’d love to learn your reactions.
Posted by: derek at May 27, 2004 2:56 PMI'm looking forward to these discs because I like everything that School Days has done, both live and on disc. But fwiw (not much) I think that Double or Nothing is easily the worst recording I've heard by any of the participants. It has probably delivered the least enjoyment of any disc I've purchased over the last 4 years. Imo, it is just flat and lifeless; two terms I ordinarily wouldn't apply to any of the six players.
Posted by: Captain Hate at May 30, 2004 3:21 PMCaptain - agree very much on "Double or Nothing" but I think part of also has to do with the recording being a bit too distant and too compressed. Still, I very much agree that they should have done/used other takes (and used Janson on bass for AALY).
Well, back to the subject, good news here. This double-disc set won't disappoint. In fact, I think the results are quite good. Broo is the only player who left me underwhelmed, or worse almost cold (though he contributes one of the livelier tunes here). Others mostly shine, though, and since it's an eight-man ensemble you get to hear a lot of variety. The tunes are mostly swinging and energy-laden through Love's drumming. Wiik on disc 1 and Nordeson on disc 2 deliver consistently good solos. You will frequently find yourself smiling and simply enjoying and having fun, as must have the players themselves while recording these performances.
Posted by: gnhrtg at May 30, 2004 5:10 PMIt’s been a long while since I listened to DOUBLE OR NOTHING, but I seem to remember enjoying it. I do recall problems with the recording quality though, especially in the clarity of Flaten and Kessler. Unfortunately the disc is buried at the bottom of an unnamed box (knee-deep in a move to new digs) so I can’t revisit it for awhile to confirm my nebulous impressions.
Re: Broo. I was pretty impressed hearing him live with this combo group and as part of Atomic at the ACME Fest (still working on that blasted write-up). He’s kind of a vertically-challenged guy, bald & unassuming in appearance. But one of the most visually entertaining things was watching his dome-shaped head turn increasingly florid shades of red as he’d develop a solo. On several I thought steam might start whistling from his ears.
I haven't heard Nuclear Assembly Hall enough times to comment on it... but I was at the ACME festival, and although I missed the Atomic/School Days Octet, I caught both groups separately. Atomic knocked my socks off, though I'd have to say that to me, Broo's was the least memorable performance (although maybe because I saw most of the other guys play in several different combos all weekend).
Anyway, I am glad to hear someone is compiling a write-up on the festival! I haven't been able to find ANY reviews on the web or in print. Looking forward to that...
And if you're interested, Atomic and the Vandermark 5 are returning to the 40Watt in Athens, GA on June 24th and I'm looking forward to seeing them at the Echo Lounge in Atlanta the day before that...
Posted by: mc at June 1, 2004 11:27 AMRe-"Double or Nothing" - To clarify, I don't agree with this "It has probably delivered the least enjoyment of any disc I've purchased over the last 4 years. Imo, it is just flat and lifeless;" - This might have to do with the music I buy, though.
I agree, however, that the music comes nowhere near the potential offered by the line-up. I still spin it somewhat regularly and enjoy it - though was expecting to be floored initially.
Oh yes, I've been enjoying this one very much. I'd agree that the music sounds quite like what you would expect if you were to put the bands together - these being two of my favorite small ensmbles playing high-energy jazz, is that a bad thing? Surely not (not that anyone implied so).
I hope to see Atomic and The Thing live in a month's time in Norway. Excited I am.
Posted by: gnhrtg at June 1, 2004 3:31 PMMaybe my expectations were just too damn high; anyway my description was exactly how it hit me. I thought it was a stinker that shouldn't have been released. Be that as it may, in 19 days the V5 and Atomic will venture here, where I'll pick up this disc and the new V5 with the Roland Kirk live disc. With very high expectations, dammit!!
Posted by: Captain Hate at June 1, 2004 6:55 PMWe just put up a review of this disc, *and* a review of the ACME festival over at www.sudden-thoughts.com ... unfortunately I think I'm gonna miss the V5/Atomic show on Wednesday here in Atlanta...
Posted by: chuckyd4 at June 21, 2004 9:57 PMDamn, Chuck, you beat me to the punch on an ACME write-up. I'm still wallowing in my stack of kid-scribble notes. Looking forward to reading your musings. How're things in Hot-lanta?
Posted by: derek at June 22, 2004 5:40 AMWell, Signal to Noise beat both of us, so don't worry about it too much :-p. I understand the thing about wallowing in notes - especially with live reviews, it seems especially difficult to distill the little notes and phrases you come up with into a coherent assessment of the actual experience. I hope the point that came across most in my review was how positive I thought the whole thing was. I'll definitely be interested to read what you have to say about it, though.
Hot-lanta is actually pretty rainy at the moment, but it's been a nice change from the heat and humidity.
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