Ken Vandermark

It's not a stretch to say that saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Vandermark's path into creative music was paved by Joe McPhee. In particular, McPhee's landmark 1976 LP Tenor - recorded casually in a Swiss chalet and featuring four new compositions that effortlessly combined experimentation and lyricism - was Vandermark's ear-opener. The two musicians would go on to begin a fruitful working relationship in 1996, a partnership that continues today, and now Vandermark has paid homage to his friend and mentor with a suite of compositions and improvisations. These solo works, performed on an array of horns (clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone and of course tenor saxophone), are as melodious and unapologetically beautiful as anything in Vandermark's oeuvre, interweaving tremendous swells of emotion and ingenious linear inventions. Vandermark played the six pieces in the suite in front of an invited audience at Corbett vs. Dempsey, the gallery's natural acoustic drawing out every nuance of his playing. He augmented the suite, each part of which is named for a flower with significance to McPhee or Vandermark, with several powerful free improvisations, all titled after "filler flowers," making the entire program a bouquet for Mr. McPhee. Exquisitely documented by Alex Inglizian, with cover art by Arch Connelly and liner notes by Vandermark.