Kilogram Records is excited to present “Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland,” the final installment of Ken Vandermark’s series of limited edition, 7-inch singles of improvised solo music, released during 2021 and the first part of 2022.
All income generated from the sale of "Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland" will be sent to Marek (Mark) Tokar, Ukrainian bassist and friend living in Lviv, as well as any Ukrainian humanitarian aid organizations he suggests.
Each 45 contains four improvisations which use Ken’s full instrumentation: tenor & baritone sax, Bb & bass clarinet. The recordings have been issued by Kilogram at three-month intervals since March of 2021, include cover art from photographs that Ken has taken during his international touring schedule, and each single has been dedicated to countries that have had tremendous impact on his work: Japan, Austria, Brazil and, now, Poland. The music for the first three editions of the “Snapshots” project was created at Ken’s home in Chicago, on volume one by presenting four “micro-improvisations,” on the second installment by overdubbing improvisations to create duos, and on the third by extending the overdubbing principle to develop trios.
In late autumn of 2021, Ken was able to return to Poland to perform for the first time after a two year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea of recording the final edition of “Snapshots” in the country whose artists helped influence the material seemed ideal. After the five solo concerts that took place at the end of October, which utilized compositions written for his album, The Field Within A Line (Corbett vs. Dempsey), he spent a day recording in a country home outside of Gdansk. Ken realized that, in order to record quartets for “Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland,” all four improvised components would need total clarity, otherwise the superimposed results would sound like mud. The solution was to put each instrument into a different sonic register, while playing against expectations and conventions (for example, creating a baritone part for its highest range and a Bb clarinet part in its lowest). The strategy worked, and provided a fitting conclusion to a set of musical statements unlike any in Ken’s career, that are dedicated to the Polish artist Katarzyna Kobro, writer Stanisław Lem, composer Witold Lutosławski, and good friend and record/concert producer, Marek Winiarski.
Every volume in the series has been pressed in a hand numbered edition of 100 copies. European fans can order copies of Snapshots 4 directly from Kilogram (
www.serpent.pl and here), and from Catalytic Sound, which also represents North American distribution (
catalyticsound.com). The entire project will be compiled on a CD, also to be released by Kilogram, that will collect all the material from each single, plus bonus tracks that did not fit onto the initial 45s, adding to the range of this unique set of recordings.
Kilogram Records will officially release “Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland” on March 15th. Each previous edition sold out almost immediately, and pre-orders of the final installment are being accepted now.
released March 15, 2022
Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland
Side A:
1. Doskonała próżnia [A Perfect Vacuum] (for Stanisław Lem)
2. Gry zamiast łańcuchów [Games Not Chains] (for Witold Lutosławski)
Side B:
1. Tancerz i taniec [The Dancer And The Dance] (for Marek Winiarski)
2. Koniec [The End] (for Katarzyna Kobro)
All music by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music/ASCAP-Cien Fuegos)
Performed on tenor sax, bass clarinet, Bb clarinet, and baritone sax
Recorded by Ken Vandermark at the Trzaska’s country home outside of Gdansk on November 2nd, 2021. Mixed by Ken Vandermark with assistance from Ola Trzaska. Mastered by Dave Zuchowski at One Room Studio.
Design by Iwona and Paweł Duczmal
Photographs by Ken Vandermark
Thanks to Ola Trzaska and Kilogram Records, Dave Zuchowski, Iwona and Paweł Duczmal, Mikołaj Trzaska, and to the listeners.
More info at:
kenvandermark.com
audiographicrecords.com
catalyticsound.com
kilogram.pl
www.serpent.pl