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.
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, at 40 PLN, or $10 each, with digital versions selling at 20 PLN, or $5. European fans can order copies of Snapshots 4 directly from Kilogram (www.serpent.pl), 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.
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The Snapshots series began in the spring of 2021 as a special solo music project proposed by Ola Trzaska for Kilogram records. During a good part of 2020, I had been developing a new system for the solo format, something that I had wanted to work on for several years and which I finally realized because there was little else possible due to the onset of Covid. That material was compositionally based and documented in September of 2020 on the album, The Field Within A Line, released by Corbett vs. Dempsey. To be honest, when Ola presented the idea of creating another set of solo music after a year of doing little else, I knew it was going to be a challenge.
Then, taking Man Ray’s phrase, “I have no problems, I only have solutions,” to heart, I started to look at the parameters of what Ola had proposed: a series of four 7” singles to be released at regular intervals over the course of a year. One of the creative difficulties was the time limitations presented by a 45. After the C vs. D album, with pieces designed to be reconfigured into longer compositions, writing new music that had to be within three to four minutes in order to fit on a side of a single seemed too restricting. By chance, Damon Locks introduced me to the Quakers recording, Supa K: Heavy Tremors, at the same time as I was trying to figure out what to do for the Snapshots project. The longest of fifty tracks on that Quakers album is 1:45, and the average tune length is about 60 seconds. It then struck me- why not approach a 45 of improvised music in a similar way, by creating two "micro-improvisations" of about a minute and a half each per side, every piece using a different instrument?
That idea was realized on Snapshots: Volume 1/Japan. The initial strategy quickly evolved on Volume 2/Austria, by overdubbing my improvisations to create duos, a concept inspired by the album I did with Nate Wooley in the summer of 2021, The Chicago Manual of Style (Superpang), where we developed material by sharing music files and layering the parts. The next edition, Volume 3/Brazil, extended the overdubbing principle to trios. Surprisingly, I found that the process was not an additive one (like on the second edition, where 1+1=2), but was much more similar to Sergei Eisenstein’s concept of montage (where A+B=C). When the first two improvisations were layered together they created a unique, single artifact that the third needed to respond to. Understanding that principle prepared me for Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland, and helped me organize an effective recording strategy that incorporated 4 components on every piece.
The music for the first three editions of the Snapshots series was created at my home in Chicago. In late autumn of 2021, I was able to return to Poland to play concerts for the first time in two years . The idea of recording the final volume of the series in the country whose artists inspired the material seemed like an ideal way to complete the project. After a series of five solo performances that took place at the end of October, where I worked with compositions written for The Field Within A Line, I borrowed Mikołaj Trzaska’s baritone sax and bass clarinet, and spent a day recording at the Trzaska’s country home outside of Gdansk. In addition to what had been learned from working on the third edition of the series, I realized that all four improvised components needed for each piece would demand total clarity, otherwise the results could sound like mud. The solution to this problem was to focus on “range” and put each instrument into a different sonic register, while also 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 gave a fitting conclusion to a set of musical statements that are unlike any I’ve made.
I’d like to thank Ola Trzaska for the opportunity to create the Snapshots project for Kilogram. It will conclude with a CD compilation of all the singles, along with a number of bonus tracks that would not fit on the original albums. It’s also important for me to state how important Poland has been for me as a source of inspiration for many years, as a place to work and to meet so many creative and generous individuals. The pieces on Snapshots: Volume 4/Poland are dedicated to just a few of them.
-Ken Vandermark, Chicago
1. Doskonała próżnia [A Perfect Vacuum] (for Stanisław Lem) / Gry zamiast łańcuchów [Games Not Chains] (for Witold Lutosławski) 03:12
2. Tancerz i taniec [The Dancer And The Dance] (for Marek Winiarski) / Koniec [The End] (for Katarzyna Kobro) 03:16
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
