Broadcast Transformer features 14 new compositions by Vandermark that explore his interests in the experimental jazz of the AACM and different schools of improvised music developed in Europe, all investigated with a post-punk/free-funk attitude. After continuous work during the year before the second album was recorded, the musicians’ understanding of Vandermark’s goal to perpetually reinvent material by not only re-arranging individual pieces from performance to performance, but to also reorganize their sequence as unique “suites”. The response to this new collection of music both at home and abroad has been extraordinary. Listeners everywhere can now experience the ensemble’s creative achievement with Broadcast Transformer, the next step in documentation for this innovative and exciting ensemble.
Tracklist:
- Other Nichols Other Dimes (for Herbie Nichols and The Minutemen) / Salto (for Jacob Lawrence) / Pony Up (for Rebecca Morris) – 12:32
- Autochrome (for Faith Ringgold) / Scratch Vocal (for Scratch Acid) / Clockwise (for Peter Greenaway) / Velocity Dub (for Joel Sternfeld) – 21:19
- Text Tile (for Joe Morris) / Entre Chien Et Loup (for Christina Ramberg) / Slate Arrangement (for Nan Goldin) / Shinkansen Dream (for Akira Sakata) – 13:45
- Winged Jaguar (for Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor) / Flipside (for Diane Arbus and Lisette Model) / Five Dollars In A $3 World (for Lester Bowie) – 17:38
Music performed and improvised by:
Erez Dessel: piano and Nord synthesizer
Lily Finnegan: drums
Beth McDonald: tuba and electronics
Ken Vandermark: reeds
Recorded by Nick Broste at Palisade Studios, Chicago on March 3, 2024.
Mixed by Nick Broste and Ken Vandermark at Kind Wizard.
Mastered by Kate In at Experimental Sound Studio.
Produced by Ken Vandermark for Audiographic Records.
Cover art, PLC Sunrise, October 1st, neon variation, by Beth McDonald.
Album design by Federico Peñalva.
Thanks to the musicians, to Nick Broste and Kate In, to all the audiences and organizers for the February 2024 U.S. tour, to Fede Peñalva, and to the listeners. Special thanks to Ernst Gesslbauer whose patronage made work with Edition Redux in Europe during the autumn of 2023 more feasible. Ongoing thanks to Ellen Major for her ongoing support.