Vandermark "School Days"

[ken p]

i'm wondering if anyone caught the vandermark gig at the anza club.. i've heard one good report - i was in toronto and unable to make it.. so if anyone wants to post their thoughts if they were at the gig, please do so. i'm really curious about how the audience responded to the music as well. (the cd was good, but no kjell nordeson on vibes there).
ken p

[zula]

it was a kick-ass show! sorry you missed it, ken (thanks for the heads-up/btw). after seeing 14 sets of school days from l.a. to seattle (loved every minute), i think the final 2 sets of the tour at the anza club were some of the hottest. they weren't the most technically precise sets, but included the best, longest, most adventureous solos by all members. what a killer unit! they swing hard, stretch, explore and communicate so well.

kjell surprised me night after night, with his carefully thought out playing -i'm surprised vibes is not his main instrument (i even caught a glimpse of him goofing around on the bass -not bad for a drummer/vibist). jeb can make the trombone sound exciting and fresh -a difficult task on that instrument- his playing demands attention. paal and ingebrigt are a fabulous rhythm section, both full of piss and vinegar. check out their trio recording with mats gustafsson called 'the thing' on crazy wisdom for further proof. what can i say about vandermark? he played his heart out throughout the tour. a very inventive, gutsy player. i'm glad he brought along the bass clarinet, what a treat.

after all the bureaucratic bullshit they had to put up with at the canadian consulate in seattle and at the border, they performed surprisingly well on the last night of a lengthy, tiring tour. then again, i'm slightly biased since i put on the show.
i would also be curious what other audience members thought. the 100 or so that were there seemed ecstatic.

ps. i don't notice many discussions on this type of stuff here. people seem too busy discussing definitions (what is "real" jazz, anyway? who decides? who cares?). i hope the day'll come when different camps of players and audiences can ignore boundaries and see the smorgasborg that it is (i'm also guilty of not taking in all the music that i could).

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cheers,
cem