June 15, 2010 – CASA – 9PM – THE FRAME QUARTET

THE FRAME QUARTET

Band Members
Tim Daisy – drums
Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello
Nate McBride – electric and acoustic bass
Ken Vandermark – tenor sax/Bb clarinet
Ken Vandermark’s newest ensemble presents his most recent strategies for integrating composition and improvisation in a contemporary music context. The line-up features long-time associates Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello & electronics), Nate McBride (acoustic & electric bass), and Tim Daisy (drums & percussion). Though this is the first time that these four musicians have worked together in the same lineup, all of the members of the ensemble have played with Ken in other formats, performing concerts in North America and Europe for many years. Collaborations of particular note would include the Vandermark 5 (with Tim Daisy and Fred Lonberg-Holm), the Free Music Ensemble and Powerhouse Sound (with Nate McBride). The Frame Quartet began its work together in January of 2007 on a tour of Europe, since then they been performing frequently in their hometown of Chicago, developing new material together.

The compositions Ken has written for this group move even further away from the jazz tradition than his previous bands. Utilizing ideas from adventurous music in other fields, such as underground rock and contemporary composition, and sources like Ennio Morricone’s approach to film scoring, Ken has created a vehicle of expression that sounds unlike any other ensemble performing today. In addition, certain organizational concepts have been taken from the linear construction methods found in cinema; this has been done as a means to redirect the improvising, shifting it away from the development found in most contemporary music environments. All of the predetermined elements are interfaced with a variety of improvisational tactics, and the pieces can be spontaneously reformatted at each performance. In a sense, the structure of the music is also improvised by the band, and with systems that can’t always be predicted by the members of the group.

http://www.kenvandermark.com/work.php