It’s never been a secret that Chicago free-jazz reedist Ken Vandermark is inspired by punk rock; it’s obvious in the the raw directness of his performance and the pile-driver energy of his playing. For years he’s worked with inventive self-taught guitarists Terrie Hessels and Andy Moor of Amsterdam postpunk juggernaut the Ex—a group that came to embrace improvisational music out of its DIY roots—in a quartet with Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love called Lean Left.…
It’s never been a secret that Chicago free-jazz reedist Ken Vandermark is inspired by punk rock; it’s obvious in the the raw directness of his performance and the pile-driver energy of his playing. For years he’s worked with inventive self-taught guitarists Terrie Hessels and Andy Moor of Amsterdam postpunk juggernaut the Ex—a group that came to embrace improvisational music out of its DIY roots—in a quartet with Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love called Lean Left.…