| Big Head Eddie | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Recorded | February 22 & 23, 1993 | |||
| Studio | Acme Recording Studio, Chicago | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 60:52 | |||
| Label | Platypus | |||
| Producer | The Vandermark Quartet | |||
| Ken Vandermark chronology | ||||
| ||||
Big Head Eddie is the debut album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1993 and released on Platypus.
After moving to Chicago in 1989, Vandermark performed with Hal Russell, whom he replaced in punk jazz band The Flying Luttenbachers and free jazz NRG Ensemble. The Vandermark Quartet, with guitarist Todd Colburn, bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Michael Zerang, was his first major group. Kessler was the bassist on the NRG Ensemble since 1985. [1] Big Head Eddie was Vandermark's first CD as a leader after some obscure recordings with Fourth Stream, Lombard Street and the duo with Curt Newton Concert for Jimmy Lyons, only released on cassette. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
In his review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek states: "This is a stunning debut, and a high sign that musically everything was about to get very interesting." [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes that "Big Head Eddie is a nifty set of tunes, sparked by Colburn's scrawling guitar lines, lurid and alive if not quite focused yet." [4]
Ken Vandermark is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist.
Kent Kessler is an American jazz double-bassist.
NRG Ensemble was an American free jazz ensemble founded in the late 1970s by saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell.
Calling All Mothers is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their first after the death of bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1993 and released on the Quinnah label.
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.
Standards is an album by American jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in 1994 and released on the Quinnah label.
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.
A Meeting in Chicago is an album by trumpeter/saxophonist Joe McPhee, reedist Ken Vandermark and bassist Kent Kessler, which was released in 1997 on Eighth Day Music and reissued the following year with new artwork by Okka Disk. The album documents trio, duo and solo improvisations recorded all in a single take with no rehearsal, before playing their first concert later that night at The Empty Bottle. Vandermark cites McPhee’s solo recording Tenor as a major influence.
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.
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.
Baraka is an album by the DKV Trio, composed of drummer Hamid Drake, bassist Kent Kessler and reedist Ken Vandermark. It was recorded in 1997 and released on Okka Disk.
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.
Live in Wels & Chicago, 1998 is a double album by the DKV Trio, composed of drummer Hamid Drake, bassist Kent Kessler and reedist Ken Vandermark. The first CD was recorded live at the "Music Unlimited 98" Festival in Wels, while the second was recorded a few days later at the Velvet Lounge, the Chicago club owned by saxophonist Fred Anderson. The album was released on Okka Disk. All the music is improvised but the first disc is a six pieces suite based on Don Cherry's "Complete Communion'".
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.
Tales Out of Time is an album by Peter Brötzmann, Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang recorded in 2002 and released on the Swiss HatHut label in 2004.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.