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The Squid's Ear Magazine
Relative Pitch Sale — 100+ albums on sale at $8.95 - save $5 each!


Vandermark, Ken and Mats Gustafsson
Verses

Vandermark, Ken and Mats Gustafsson: Verses (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Surprisingly after long partnerships with Peter Brotzmann's Tentet and the saxophone trio Sonore, this is the first time that Ken Vandermark & Mats Gustafsson have recorded as a duo, here in 6 incredible improvisations balancing technique, power, and beauty.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Ken Vandermark-tenor saxophone, Bb clarinet, bass clarinet

Mats Gustafsson-alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone


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UPC: B07426TCKM

Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CvsDCD009a
Squidco Product Code: 17942

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2013
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardstock gatefold foldover
Recorded at Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago on March 24th, 2013 by David Zuchowski.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and Chicago saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark have worked together extensively since the mid 1990s, in groups of their own and as members of the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet. Oddly, they had never performed duo before March 2013, when they squared off at Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery. The result was a delirious journey through extended techniques, intimate improvisation, and full-throttle flame-throwing, with an emphasis on the more delicate, sensitive side. The CD presents the entire concert, all six pieces in the order they were performed. A pair of today's master improvisers, at the top of their game, in a free music summit built for two."-Corbett vs. Dempsey


Artist Biographies

"Born in Warwick, Rhode Island on September 22nd, 1964, Ken Vandermark began studying the tenor saxophone at the age of 16. Since graduating with a degree in Film and Communications from McGill University during the spring of 1986, his primary creative emphasis has been the exploration of contemporary music that deals directly with advanced methods of improvisation. In 1989, he moved to Chicago from Boston, and has worked continuously from the early 1990's onward, both as a performer and organizer in North America and Europe, recording in a large array of contexts, with many internationally renowned musicians (such as Fred Anderson, Ab Baars, Peter Brötzmann, Tim Daisy, Hamid Drake, Terrie Ex, Mats Gustafsson, Devin Hoff, Christof Kurzmann, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Paul Lytton, Andy Moor, Joe Morris, and Nate Wooley). His current activity includes work with Made To Break, The Resonance Ensemble, Side A, Lean Left, Fire Room, the DKV Trio, and duos with Paal Nilssen-Love and Tim Daisy; in addition, he is the music director of the experimental Pop band, The Margots. More than half of each year is spent touring in Europe, North America, and Japan, and his concerts and numerous recordings have been critically acclaimed both at home and abroad. In addition to the tenor sax, he also plays the bass and Bb clarinet, and baritone saxophone. In 1999 he was awarded the MacArthur prize for music."

-Ken Vandermark Website (http://kenvandermark.com/2013/10/made-to-break-biography/)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
"Born 1964 in Umeå, Northern Sweden.Saxplayer, improviser and composer. Solo artist and international tours and projects with a.o. Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O´Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Yoshimi, Ken Vandermark and in working groups The Thing, FIRE!, Gush, Boots Brown, Swedish Azz and Fake (the facts). Large ensemble work with Barry Guy New Orchestra,FIRE! Orchestra and the NU - ensemble.over 1800 concerts and over 200 record productions in Europe, Australia, Africa, North & South America and Asia.Collaborations with contemporary dance, theater, art, poetry as well as projects with noise, electronica, contemporary rock and free jazz.Discaholic - running the discaholic corner website.Producer of international festivals and concert tours as well as work with own record labels Slottet, OlofBright Editions and Blue Tower Records."-Mats Gustafsson Website (http://matsgus.com/archives/category/bio)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. The Madness of Branches 6:42

2. Ripolin 10:26

3. Fortunate Rust 7:53

4. I Never Dreamed 7:00

5. Beside Me, Images. 4:44

6. We Turn The Page. 4:00

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Free Improvisation
Ken Vandermark
Mats Gustafsson
Recordings by or featuring Reed & Wind Players
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Duo Recordings
Duo Recordings
Last Copy of Items that will not be restocked...

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Corbett vs. Dempsey.

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