Ken Vandermark
Ken Vandermark (USA, 1964) is a renowned avant-garde composer, improviser, saxophonist/clarinetist, curator, and writer. He has collaborated and recorded with key figures from the AACM (Fred Anderson), FMP (Peter Brötzmann), British improvisation (Paul Lytton), post-punk (Terrie Ex), Ethiopian music (Getachew Mekuria), and Japanese free jazz (Akira Sakata). Since 2012, he has directed the Catalytic Sound cooperative and runs Audiographic Records (founded 2014). In 1999, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his contributions to music.
Calendar
7:00 pm
Edition XL (Berman, Dessel, Finnigan, Macri, McDonald, Vandermark)
Edition XL is a new ensemble built on the foundation of the critically acclaimed band, Edition Redux (with Erez Dessel: keyboards, Lily Finnegan: drums, Beth McDonald: […]
9:30 pm
Edition XL (Berman, Dessel, Finnigan, Macri, McDonald, Vandermark)
Edition XL is a new ensemble built on the foundation of the critically acclaimed band, Edition Redux (with Erez Dessel: keyboards, Lily Finnegan: drums, Beth McDonald: […]
8:00 pm
Edition XL (Berman, Dessel, Finnigan, Macri, McDonald, Vandermark) & poets – Day 1
Announcing two special nights of music and poetry in Chicago! On Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd, Ken Vandermark will be presenting his new ensemble, Edition XL, along […]
8:00 pm
Edition XL (Berman, Dessel, Finnigan, Macri, McDonald, Vandermark) & poets – Day 2
Announcing two special nights of music and poetry in Chicago! On Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd, Ken Vandermark will be presenting his new ensemble, Edition XL, along […]
Latest Releases
Medicine Kit
Terri Kapsalis, Damon Locks, Ken Vandermark
Broadcast Transformer
Edition Redux
This Is Not A Holiday!
Terrie Ex & Ken Vandermark
Koniec
Sebastiaan Janssen, Hubert Kostkiewicz, Ken Vandermark & Marta Warelis
Better A Rook Than A Pawn
Edition Redux
Distant Cousins
Paul Lytton & Ken Vandermark
Recent Posts
Interview for PostGenre: Music Beyond Category
In advance of my No Idea residency in Austin on May 29 and 30, 2025, organized by Chris Cogburn, I was interviewed by Rob Shepherd for his “PostGenre: Music Beyond […]
Back To ESS To Work With Corbett vs. Dempsey
[photo of John Corbett and Jim Dempsey by Meg Noe] On Thursday, July 17th, I returned to Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago to complete mixes on two projects for the […]
Studio Work
[photo of Ken Vandermark and Chris Felver by John Corbett] Two days were spent at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago this week, each focusing on different aspects of documenting […]
Instagram Feed
Musician (improviser/composer) who plays saxophones and clarinets, and works with a variety of styles and artists.
![WHAT? Edition XL, Ken Vandermark’s newest ensemble, featuring Josh Berman (cornet), Erez Dessel (keyboards), Lily Finnegan (drums), Nick Macri (basses), and Beth McDonald (tuba/electronics).
WHERE? The Jazz Estate, 2423 N. Murray Ave., Milwaukee
WHEN? Saturday, July 26th, shows at 7 and 9:30pm.
WHY? To premier 15 new compositions with a sextet of world-renowned musicians.
HOW? By intersecting Vandermark’s interests in free jazz, funk, and post-punk with new sets of architecture for improvisers.
Full concert details and ticket info in bio!
[Poster by Fede Peñalva]
@54bpm
@bethtuba
@lil.g.finn
@nckmcr
@josh.berman.chicago
@estatemke
#ErezDessel
#LilyFinnegan
#BethMcDonald
#NickMacri
#JoshBerman
#KenVandermark
#ImprovisedMusic
#ExperimentalMusic
#FreeJazzMusic
#ContemporaryMusic
#Avant-GardeMusic
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