The Vandermark 5 - Alchemia (2005) {12CD Box Set, Limited Edition}

24 Apr, 03:05
change text size:

Artist: The Vandermark 5
Title: Alchemia
Year Of Release: 2005
Label: Not Two Records #MW 750-2
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Quality: EAC Rip -> FLAC (Img+Cue, Log) / MP3 CBR320
Total Time: 12:01:30
Total Size: 3,91 / 1,86 Gb (Full Scans)
WebSite: Album Preview

The Complete Recordings At Alchemia, Krakow, Poland, March 15-19, 2004

These 12 full-length CDs document the Vandermark 5 playing at Alchemia, a major nightclub in Kraków, Poland, for a period of five evenings in March 2005. Over the course of well more than 12 hours of music, the quintet solidifies its reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting jazz groups of its time, as magic fills the air every night. It is difficult to imagine a more compelling set of modern jazz. The invigorated Polish audience welcomed the group enthusiastically, and the musicians responded with thrilling performances that summarize the state of the band, which was in peak form, and suggest the directions in which jazz is heading as a creative force. This is difficult music to categorize, if only because it relies on traditional concepts of melody and improvisation, but pushes hard to stretch and twist the limits of propriety. The box set is marvelously packaged, with a splendid booklet featuring an extensive interview with Ken Vandermark, and numerous photos in color and black-and-white. Musical highlights abound. There are consistently strong solos from the horns, with trombonist Jeb Bishop making a particularly fine showing. This was one of the last gigs in which Bishop performed as a working member of the band, and his focused, rough-hewn tone and rapid-fire technique are ubiquitous. Vandermark is clearly psyched for the gig, and he roars with abandon, with powering improvisations reined in only by the discipline of his arrangements. Most of the tunes were written by Vandermark, but he is careful to include at least one piece from composers such as Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Cecil Taylor, and Don Cherry each night. One of the most fascinating aspects of the extended blowout is how some of the songs are performed more than once, often on different nights. The patient listener can listen to the group experiment and refine its interpretations as the kinks are worked out. The last two CDs are jam sessions in which brothers Marcin Oleœ on acoustic bass and drummer Bartlomiej Brat Oleœ join the members of the quintet in various combinations, performing some freely improvised tracks and heads from Sonny Rollins' "East Broadway Rundown," Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Women," and Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing," among others. The Poles perform outstandingly, offering a glimpse at a burgeoning local jazz scene. This is one of those live recordings in which you wish you had been there, but thankfully, the box set documents it all, with great sound quality to boot. It is destined to be a classic of its genre.

~ Steve Loewy, All Music

Track List CD01 - Day One: Monday, March 15, 2004, Set One:

01. Telefon (Vandermark) [0:08:31.00]
02. Other Cuts (Vandermark) [0:12:54.15]
03. Staircase (Vandermark) [0:10:41.67]
04. Strata (Vandermark) [0:13:40.63]
05. Free King's Suite (Roland Kirk) [0:12:07.22]

Track List CD02 - Day One: Monday, March 15, 2004, Set Two:

01. Outside Ticket (Vandermark) [0:10:58.27]
02. Money Down (Vandermark) [0:06:30.14]
03. Camera [FIRST PERFORMANCE] (Vandermark) [0:16:50.12]
04. Roulette (Vandermark) [0:04:29.52]
05. Cruz Campo (Vandermark) [0:10:28.37]
06. The Black And Crazy Blues (Roland Kirk) [0:08:34.63]

Track List CD03 - Day Two: Tuesday, March 16, 2004, Set One:

01. Confluence (Vandermark) [0:08:12.05]
02. Rip Rig And Panic Suite (Roland Kirk) [0:14:11.25]
03. Camera (Vandermark) [0:18:48.26]
04. Both Sides (Vandermark) [0:09:07.71]
05. Knock Yourself Out (Vandermark) [0:07:17.11]

Track List CD04 - Day Two: Tuesday, March 16, 2004, Set Two:

01. The Cooler (Vandermark) [0:09:14.41]
02. That Was Now [FIRST PERFORMANCE] (Vandermark) [0:11:28.44]
03. Six Of One (Vandermark) [0:22:45.09]
04. Silverlization/Volunteered Slavery (Roland Kirk) [0:10:39.09]
05. There Is The Bomb (Don Cherry) [0:11:02.60]

Track List CD05 - Day Three: Wednesday, March 17, 2004, Set One:

01. That Was Now (Vandermark) [0:10:41.31]
02. Seven Puls Five (Vandermark) [0:08:09.63]
03. The Bridge (Sonny Rollins) [0:06:51.01]
04. Gyllene (Vandermark) [0:09:30.58]
05. Auto Topography (Vandermark) [0:12:57.11]

Track List CD06 - Day Three: Wednesday, March 17, 2004, Set Two:

01. The Freedom Suite, Part 2 (Sonny Rollins) [0:06:15.63]
02. Telefon (Vandermark) [0:11:19.53]
03. Initials (Vandermark) [0:07:08.66]
04. Camera (Vandermark) [0:18:00.22]
05. Other Cuts (Vandermark) [0:13:32.73]
06. The Black And Crazy Blues (Roland Kirk) [0:09:00.63]
07. Knock Yourself Out (Vandermark) [0:06:45.48]

Track List CD07 - Day Four: Thursday, March 18, 2004, Set One:

01. Money Down (Vandermark) [0:05:31.25]
02. The Inflated Tear (Roland Kirk) [0:06:51.74]
03. Wherever June Bugs Go (Archie Shepp) [0:12:20.65]
04. Camera (Vandermark) [0:15:39.54]
05. Cruz Campo (Vandermark) [0:09:26.65]

Track List CD08 - Day Four: Thursday, March 18, 2004, Set Two:

01. Pieces Of The Past [FIRST PERFORMANCE] (Vandermark) [0:09:42.24]
02. That Was Now (Vandermark) [0:11:50.35]
03. Long Term Fool (Vandermark) [0:09:53.44]
04. Strata (Vandermark) [0:11:21.72]
05. Silverlization/Volunteered Slavery (Roland Kirk) [0:11:41.56]
06. The Bridge (Sonny Rollins) [0:07:36.10]

Track List CD09 - Day Five: Friday, March 19, 2004, Set One:

01. Conquistador, Part 2 (Cecil Taylor) [0:08:21.65]
02. Knock Yourself Out (Vandermark) [0:07:18.67]
03. Pieces Of The Past (Vandermark) [0:09:43.32]
04. Camera (Vandermark) [0:17:59.24]
05. Cruz Campo (Vandermark) [0:10:15.25]

Track List CD10 - Day Five: Friday, March 19, 2004, Set Two:

01. That Was Now (Vandermark) [0:11:33.09]
02. Gyllene (Vandermark) [0:10:52.19]
03. Telefon (Vandermark) [0:09:45.74]
04. Ken's Final Speach [0:02:00.21]
05. Six Of One (Vandermark) [0:22:45.74]
06. Other Cuts (Vandermark) [0:13:39.13]
07. The Black And Crazy Blues (Roland Kirk) [0:08:18.30]

Track List CD11 - Jam Session One, Wednesday, March 17, 2004:

01. Free Jam 1 (Vandermark/Bishop/M.Oles/B.B.Oles) [0:11:30.29]
02. Free Jam 2 (Vandermark/Bishop/M.Oles/B.B.Oles) [0:05:13.61]
03. Free Jam 3 (Vandermark/Rempis/Daisy/Bishop/M.Oles) [0:12:24.08]
04. East Broadway Run Down (Sonny Rollins), Elephantasy/Complete Communion (Don Cherry) [0:11:14.23]
05. Theme For Alchemia (Vandermark/Rempis/Daisy/Kessler) [0:08:51.71]
06. Bemsha Swing (Thelonious Monk & Denzil Best) [0:10:52.59]

Track List CD12 - Jam Session Two, Thursday, March 18, 2004:

01. Round Trip (Ornette Coleman) [0:22:45.36]
02. Free Jam 4 (Vandermark/Bishop/Kessler/M.Oles) [0:17:35.35]
03. Free Jam 5 (Vandermark/Bishop/M.Oles/B.B.Oles) [0:12:22.67]
04. Togo (based on a Ghanese traditional, Ed Blackwell) [0:04:05.35]
05. Lonely Woman (Ornette Coleman) [0:08:51.67]

***************

>>> My Blog <<<

DOWNLOAD:

LOSSLESS

MP3