Ken Vandermark (reeds) and the renowned Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love— one of the most prolific duos in improvised music today—join us once again on the CMG stage.
A Ken Vandermark and PNL pairing promises to be an exhilarating listening experience. PNL’s intensity on drums is matched by Vandermark’s on reeds; combining extreme and swift rhythms with deconstructed then reassembled melodic phrases, the duo represents the highest calibre of free jazz and improvisation, while often eschewing genres themselves. As is evident in their past efforts together, Vandermark and PNL’s programs vary greatly in texture and mood – ranging from lung-bursting ferocity to chamber-like solemnity, while also rarely failing to realize a good opportunity to get funky.
PNL grew up in a Norwegian jazz club that his parents ran, and from an early age was drawn to play the drums, as his father had been. By 20 he was a renowned percussionist, and from there his reputation has soared. He has for several years been among the most vaunted of instrumentalists in improvised music.
Ken Vandermark, a multi-reedist, composer, MacArthur Fellow, and community organizer, has poured his energy back into the vibrant Chicago jazz scene where he rose to acclaim. Yet despite his accomplishments as an organizational leader, it is Vandermark’s massive body of work as a composer and improviser that has earned him such widespread renown.
Vandermark did not play with PNL until 2000. Their lasting collaboration began with the formation of the ensemble School Days, and soon carried over to the trio FME, which also includes bass player Nate McBride. For Vandermark and PNL the chemistry was immediately apparent, and it was only natural to transition into the duo format. They first explored this setting in 2002, recording the powerful, Dual Pleasure, for Oslo’s smalltownsupersound label. For good measure they did it again a year later, releasing the two-disc set Dual Pleasure 2. Since then they have released several albums and worked together in several memorable contexts, including The Thing with Mats Gustafsson and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and The Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet.
Ken Vandermark and PNL photo by Claudio Casanova
bandcamp: illegalson.bandcamp.com
website: illegalson.cargo.site
Illegal Son is an interpretation of the Undocumented way of life through Sound and Music. day to day there is no promise of a tomorrow, there is only hope and fear – the revelry of another day is what i hope for.
to process life under the umbrella of being Undocumented consists of improvisation, constant back and forth of wondering what’s next; the music, the sounds, and ear of Illegal Son is improvisation. it’s insecure, it’s unstable, but hopeful.
the trombone is my voice and my path as an Undocumented Immigrant is to uplift the countless voices of those unheard like mine.
i am Undocumented, Unafraid, and Proud of it.
