Straight Lines (album)

Last updated
Straight Lines
Straight lines cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Ken Vandermark
Released1999
RecordedSeptember 3, 1998
StudioAirwave, Chicago
Genre Jazz
Length55:36
Label Atavistic
Producer John Corbett
Ken Vandermark chronology
Funky-Do!
(1999)
Straight Lines
(1999)
Live in Wels & Chicago, 1998
(1999)

Straight Lines is an album by the American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, recorded in 1998 and released on Atavistic. The Joe Harriott Project, a pianoless quartet with four members of the Vandermark 5, plays the music of the Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott, transcribed and arranged by Vandermark. Three tunes are from the album Free Form and four from Abstract . [1]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sheridan states: "The tunes are filled with odd time signiatures, quirky stops and meaty lines that make for excellent improvisation on the part of Vandermark, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Kent Kessler on bass and Tim Mulvenna on drums. A strong tribute." [2]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz says that "the record is under-rehearsed and unfinished in feel ... It could be that the group are a shade too respectful of Harriott's themes, since their playing feels a bit stiff and uncertain, something that a Vandermark record has never been in the past." [3]

Track listing

All compositions by Joe Harriott
  1. "Tonal" – 6:59
  2. "Shadows" – 6:17
  3. "Straight Lines" – 11:39
  4. "Abstract" – 6:27
  5. "Idioms" – 8:13
  6. "Pictures" – 9:01
  7. "Formation" – 7:00

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Vandermark</span> American composer and musician

Ken Vandermark is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeb Bishop</span> American jazz musician

Jeb Bishop is an American jazz trombone player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Kessler</span> Musical artist

Kent Kessler is an American jazz double-bassist.

<i>Big Head Eddie</i> 1993 studio album by Ken Vandermark

Big Head Eddie is the debut album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1993 and released on Platypus.

<i>Solid Action</i> (Ken Vandermark album) 1994 studio album by Ken Vandermark

Solid Action is an album by the American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, recorded in 1994 and released on Platypus. It was the second record by the Vandermark Quartet, which includes bassist Kent Kessler, drummer Michael Zerang and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Scanlan replacing former guitarist Todd Colburn.

<i>Utility Hitter</i> 1996 studio album by Ken Vandermark

Utility Hitter is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Quinnah label. He leads the Barrage Double Trio, composed of one bass-drums-reeds trio from Boston and other from Chicago. The whole band plays six Vandermark compositions, the remaining five tracks are short improvisations: one for each of the trios and three duos.

<i>Blow Horn</i> 1997 studio album by FJF

Blow Horn is an album by FJF, a quartet formed by Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and American reedist Ken Vandermark with the Chicago's NRG Ensemble rhythm section of bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Steve Hunt. It was recorded in 1995 and released on Okka Disk.

<i>Real Time</i> (Steam album) 1997 studio album by Steam

Real Time is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was released in 1997 on Eighth Day Music and reissued in 2000 with new artwork by Atavistic. He leads the quartet Steam with pianist Jim Baker, bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Tim Mulvenna. The band was formed in part to dip into the repertoire of the post-changes jazz tradition, playing live covers of tunes by Anthony Braxton, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. On their debut, the group chose exclusively to deal with its own pieces: six by Vandermark and three by Baker.

<i>Single Piece Flow</i> 1997 studio album by The Vandermark 5

Single Piece Flow is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1996 and released on Atavistic. It was the debut of the Vandermark 5, which features Mars Williams on reeds, Jeb Bishop on trombone and guitar, Kent Kessler on bass and Tim Mulvenna on drums.

Discography for jazz reedist Ken Vandermark. The year indicates when the album was first released.

<i>Target or Flag</i> 1998 studio album by The Vandermark 5

Target or Flag is an album by the American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, recorded in 1997 and released on Atavistic. It was the second recording of the Vandermark 5, which includes Mars Williams on reeds, Jeb Bishop on trombone and guitar, Kent Kessler on bass and Tim Mulvenna on drums.

<i>Simpatico</i> (The Vandermark 5 album) 1999 studio album by The Vandermark 5

Simpatico is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1998 and released on Atavistic. It was the third recording of the Vandermark 5, the first with Dave Rempis replacing former saxophonist Mars Williams.

<i>Live at the Glenn Miller Café</i> 1999 live album by AALY Trio Ken Vandermark

Live at the Glenn Miller Café is the third album by the AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in Stockholm in 1999 and released on Wobbly Rail, a short-lived imprint started by Merge Records/Superchunk principal Mac McCaughan. AALY Trio is a Swedish free jazz band led by saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Originally just a guest, Vandermark became a full member of the group.

<i>Design in Time</i> 1999 studio album by Ken Vandermark

Design in Time is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1999 and released on Delmark. It was the debut recording by the Sound in Action Trio, which features two drummers: former Sun Ra percussionist Robert Barry and frequent Vandermark collaborator Tim Mulvenna. Most of the tunes are classics written by Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Don Cherry and Albert Ayler.

<i>This Is My House</i> 1996 studio album by NRG Ensemble

This Is My House is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their second with saxophonist Ken Vandermark in place of the bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1995 and released on Delmark.

Jeb Bishop is primarily known as an improvisational jazz trombonist. However he occasionally plays other instruments on both jazz and rock recordings as noted.

<i>Stone/Water</i> 2000 live album by Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet

Stone/Water is a live album by the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, led by saxophonist Brötzmann, and featuring an ten-piece ensemble. Documenting a performance of a single 39-minute work, it was recorded on May 23, 1999, at the Festival de Musique de Actuelle Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, and was released on CD in 2000 by Okka Disk. On the album, Brötzmann is joined by saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, trumpeter and electronic musician Toshinori Kondo, trombonist Jeb Bishop, violinist and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, double bassists Kent Kessler and William Parker, and percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang.

<i>The Chicago Octet/Tentet</i> 1998 live album by Peter Brötzmann

The Chicago Octet/Tentet is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann on which he is joined by two large ensembles known as the Chicago Octet and Tentet. Six tracks were recorded live at The Empty Bottle in Chicago on January 29, 1997, and September 17, 1997, while the remaining six tracks were recorded at AirWave Studio in Chicago on September 16, 1997. The album was released in 1998 as a limited-edition three-CD set by the Okka Disk label, and, in addition to Brötzmann, features saxophonists Mats Gustafsson, Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, and Mars Williams, trombonist Jeb Bishop, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, double bassist Kent Kessler, and drummers Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang.

<i>American Landscapes</i> 2007 live album by Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet

American Landscapes, volumes 1 and 2, is a pair of live albums by the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, led by saxophonist Brötzmann, and featuring an ten-piece ensemble. Documenting performances of two large-scale works, they were recorded on May 28, 2006, at Le Weekend in the Tolbooth at Stirling, Scotland, and were released on CD in 2007 by Okka Disk. On the albums, Brötzmann is joined by saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, trumpeter and saxophonist Joe McPhee, trombonist Johannes Bauer, tubist Per-Ake Holmlander, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, double bassists Kent Kessler and William Parker, and drummers Paal Nilssen-Love and Michael Zerang.

<i>3 Nights in Oslo</i> 2010 live album by Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet 1

3 Nights in Oslo is a five-disc live box set album by the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet + 1, led by saxophonist Brötzmann, and featuring an eleven-piece ensemble. It was recorded during February 19–21, 2009, at Victoria, Nasjonal Jazzscene in Oslo, Norway, and was released on CD in 2010 by the Norwegian Smalltown Superjazzz label. On the album, Brötzmann is joined by saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, trumpeter and saxophonist Joe McPhee, trombonists Jeb Bishop and Johannes Bauer, tubist Per Åke Holmlander, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, double bassist Kent Kessler, and drummers Paal Nilssen-Love and Michael Zerang. The entire ensemble is heard on discs 1 and 5, while the remaining discs feature duo, trio, and quartet combinations.

References

  1. Original Liiner Notes by Steve Beresford
  2. 1 2 Sheridan, Tim. Ken Vandermark – Straight Lines: Review at AllMusic . Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1488. ISBN   0140515216.