Twisted Lines: The Vandermark 5

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THE ALWAYS-WORKING saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Vandermark recently spent about 36 hours at home before alighting on yet another tour, this time with his flagship band, The Vandermark 5, in support of its latest CD, "A Discontinuous Line."

The album has a distinctly different timbre from that of the band's past efforts, mostly due to cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm. He joined the group about two years ago, replacing longtime trombonist Jeb Bishop, and "Line" is his studio debut with The Vandermark 5. Lonberg-Holm's versatility brings classical, rock and new-music elements to the group's signature mixture of epic swing, free-jazz blasts and compositional twists.

"We can sound like a more conventional jazz ensemble ... but we can also really quickly shift to something that's totally unlike what people would associate with the jazz tradition," Vandermark said over the phone, from the back of a van. He's right: "Some Not All" has a heavy, almost Led Zeppelin-like breakdown in the middle, while "Aperture" swings and bounces in a late-'50s style that recalls the work of Charles Mingus.

Another reason "A Discontinuous Line" sounds different is Vandermark's decision to stick solely to baritone saxophone and the B-flat and bass clarinets, leaving the alto and tenor sax work to Dave Rempis. "It's more of a practical issue, actually," Vandermark said, citing the need to travel light when the group tours in Europe. "The arrangement and compositional issues stem from that. What's going to give us the greatest number of colors, instrumentally, with the limitations we have on the road?"

While The Vandermark 5's sound has been tweaked, the leader's focus has remained consistent for the 11 years of his group's existence. "What I've tried to do with the band is develop this narrative structure of writing for an improvising ensemble," Vandermark said. "To have these pieces that are micro-suites, almost. It's basically trying to develop that set of techniques as the band develops, and think about what we've done before, and what kind of music I'm exploring now. It's a more generalized goal. I think that works well. I'm not limiting the potential."

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Photo by Joel Wanek