Ken Vandermark and the power of new ideas
Thursday, July 7, 2011 at 06:47PM 
(l to r) Ken Vandermark, Paal Nilssen-Love, Mars Williams, Kent Kessler & Peter Brotzmann
live July 8, 2011 at the Vision Festival.
There's a must read article on page 11 of the July 2011 issue of The NYC Jazz Record by polymath (saxophonist, composer, writer, producer, etc.) Ken Vandermark: New Bottle, New Wine, New Table.
It's a candid "call to arms" for musicians to step out of their comfort zones of instrumental virtuosity and canonical historicity to create ideas that push jazz into new territory.
"...the musicians will have the opportunity to contribute
something, belong to the legacy of jazz and improvised
music by adding to it with ideas, instead of maintaining
former structures, gestures and conventions."
Ken Vandermark received the coveted MacArthur Award in 1999, when he was 34. Although many (myslef included) saw it as premature at the time, he's proven us wrong. He's a thought leader and a beacon for attracting a diverse (read: younger) audience hungry to listen with ears wide open.
Vandermark records prolifically (to put it mildly) so if you're not familiar with his recordings, just dive in.
Gigs in NYC this month include a quartet with Steve Swell, Sean Conly and Chad Taylor, on July 8th and duets with Chad Taylor on July 9th; both at the Stone.
On a related note (forgive the bad pun), The NYC Jazz Record, published monthly, distributed at NYC clubs and available as a free pdf download is an invaluable resource for Jazz and always contains an exhaustive list of gigs. If you read it, support em' with a few bucks.
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