New Ken Vandermark Site Up and Running!
<img src="http://www.kenvandermark.com/admin_tools/images/kenvandermark_highres_1.jpg">
<a href="http://www.kenvandermark.com">kenvandermark.com</a>
Vandermark 5 Playing Hyde Park, MA on wed February 1st.
Any takers?
TGL?
Dawn?
BizQuig?
Frame?
be happy to send you a cd-R or some such - the new website has a fair amout of free music (pun intended).
Some vandermark projects can be hit or miss, but the V5 is one of his flagship groups, not to be missed if you have never seen him.
One of the only modern freejazzers I know to be the recipient of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarthur_Grant#MacArthur_Fellowship">1999 Macarthur Genius Grant</a>.
He used the (privately funded I might add) grant proceeds to fund the Peter Brotzmann tentet's first tour across the US circa 2000 - a juggernaut of a free improv group usually featuring 10 + musicians (Peter Brotzmann, Hamid Drake, Mats Gustafsson, Jeb Bishop, Kent Kessler - all monsters).
It came to the Middle east downstairs that year and proceeded to joyously rip my face off.
I listened to 'Long Term Fool'. Interesting, quite slow, but not atonal.
I suggest taking 0.1% of the military's annual budget (so that'd be $450 million a year) and create a blank grant program for people solving civil engineering problems around the global. Much more effective than a firefight in Fallujah.
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I'm completely down with Feb. 1 (who's on Q?). Even though I always think Van Der Graaf Generator whenever I hear "Vandermark".
global --> globe
(I haven't even got to the first beer this evening...)
I'm quickly rectifying the situation by imbibing some year-old "Baggywrinkle" barleywine. Potent.
Jandek sidenote:
On the links part of the kv.com site, there is a hook up to Seth Tisue's website, which is the CNN site for Jandek fans (My apologies to Chuck D for theiving his metaphor)
i.e. My argument probably started with "you know that most large foundations pay their board members upwards of $10-15,000 per year to have one meeting per year to give money away to their alma maters and their prep schools, and it's all above-board and legal? In fact, you can find their tax returns online <a href="http://www.guidestar.org">here</a>?
In 2003, McArthur
*gave out about $4.5 Billion in grants.
*paid their top 5 staffers a total of just over 1.2 million total (averaging about $240,000 each) per year. (that is just the top 5, I'm sure that there are millions of other staff people.
*Paid their trustees (who don't do much) $3.3 million dollars.
Seem fair? I don't think so.
If they earned it in the first place, shouldn't they instead of some unrelated entity decide how to spend it?
Funny how a group of people, not linked genetically, can decide how best to spend money from a third party, and gain praise.
There currently exist publicly funded grant programs. Think Medicare. I'm not sure I jive with db's 99%.
The State has a right to collect money from citizens. We may grumble about it, but, if you don't want to pay taxes please live outside of society.
If a private foundation can collectively decide to distribute money in a pleasing fashion, there is no reason a body of representatives cannot do so as well.
Also, <a href="http://www.twistedvillage.com/bostonimprov.asp">Twisted Village</a> hosts a good listing of all the heavyweight free jazzers / improvisers coming through Boston, and they are listing another Vandermark performance on Jan. 13th @ Zeitgiest, I believe...
<img src="http://mim.karayorgis.com/mim_images/temp/Vandermark5.jpg">
Heads up that the Vandermark 5 show in Boston / Hyde Park feb 1st is this Wednesday upcoming.
directions and times are at <a href="http://mim.karayorgis.com/">http://mim.karayorgis.com/</a>.
This guy and his band is no joke. Come and feast yr ears!
Im hoping I can get at least one unsuspecting rsn'er to go...