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), New York’s Downtown scene (Ikue Mori), 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
9:00 pm
McPhee/Vandermark/Corsano Trio: Northside Tavern, Cincinnati, OH
The trio of Joe McPhee (sax/voice), Ken Vandermark (reeds), and Chris Corsano (drums/percussion) will begin a series of concerts for the first time in early autumn, starting at the Northside […]
7:30 pm
McPhee/Vandermark/Corsano Trio: Singletary Center for the Arts, Lexington, KY
The trio of Joe McPhee (sax/voice), Ken Vandermark (reeds), and Chris Corsano (drums/percussion) continue a series of concerts in early autumn at the Singletary Center for the Arts in Lexington, […]
8:00 pm
McPhee/Vandermark/Corsano Trio: 101 African-American Museum, Louisville, KY
The trio of Joe McPhee (sax/voice), Ken Vandermark (reeds), and Chris Corsano (drums/percussion) continue a series of concerts in early autumn at the 101 African-American Museum in Louisville, KY on […]
10:00 pm
McPhee/Vandermark/Corsano Trio: Sound & Gravity Festival, Hungry Brain, Chicago, IL [sold out]
The trio of Joe McPhee (sax/voice), Ken Vandermark (reeds), and Chris Corsano (drums/percussion) concludes their first tour together with a sold out show at the Sound & Gravity Festival in […]
Latest Recordings & Releases
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October Flowers for Joe McPhee
Ken Vandermark
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El Infierno Musical II
Christof Kurzmann, Katinka Kleijn, Lia Kohl, Dave Rempis, Ken Vandermark
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Pivot
Mats Gustafsson, Tomeka Reid, Chad Taylor, Ken Vandermark
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Fourth Atlas
Ken Vandermark & Tim Daisy
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Broadcast Transformer
Edition Redux
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This Is Not A Holiday!
Terrie Ex & Ken Vandermark
Recent Posts
Midwest School 2026 (August)
Though there is much work ahead for the collaborations I have with Ben Hall, a milestone was achieved by the Field Kitchen Uptown Orchestra & Poets concerts at the Green […]
New Detroit Recording Session: June 19, 2026
Ben Hall has called it a residency, and that seems true. Since I got to Detroit on Sunday, June 14th, the time has been filled with rehearsals, performances, recording sessions, […]
Experiments 2026: #3 & #4/work with Ben Hall
Experiments 2026: #3 & #4/work with Ben Hall. 2026 has included a number of shifts in creative strategy for me. Starting in reverse from this spring to the beginning of […]
Instagram Feed
Musician (improviser/composer) who plays saxophones and clarinets, and works with a variety of styles and artists.
![Heading to the heat of Austin today to perform two shows tonight- Friday, August 14th- at 7:30pm and 9:30pm at Monks with the Chicago/Texas Sound Ensemble. The band features Kory Cook (drums), Matthew Frerck (bass), Stefan González (vibraphone), Jonathan Horne (guitar), and the music we’ll be presenting was developed over a series of concerts in Texas during May, which included two packed shows at this evening’s venue. The material, with pieces from all members of the group, is a forward-thinking exploration of different melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic aesthetics connected to the ongoing history of improvised music, both at home and abroad. These concerts will be an extraordinary opportunity to hear a new working band in action before it heads into the studio to document the discoveries it’s made.
Link to more information and tickets for Monks in bio.
[left to right: Jonathan Horne, Stefan González, Ken Vandermark, Kory Kook, Matthew Frerck]
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@monksjazz
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