September 2128, 2000
six pick
Its hard to keep up with Ken Vandermark. The Chicago-based saxophonist/clarinetist, who turns 36 this week, has already achieved near-legendary status as an improviser and scene-maker. Last year he won a MacArthur Fellowship the prestigious and coveted "Genius Grant." Since then, his output has been positively prodigious; he has released no fewer than a dozen albums, each with a different thrust. English Suites (Wobbly Rail) is an exploratory tete-a-tete with drummer Paul Lytton, while Spaceways Incorporated (Atavistic) examines the otherworldly interstices between Parliament/Funkadelic and Sun Ra. And now, hot off the presses: Burn the Incline (Atavistic), his newest Vandermark 5 release. If past performance is any indication, this groups edgy but tuneful avant-jazz (think Dolphy with Ornette Coleman, through a post-punk prism) should fuel one of this years must-have discs (and one of its must-see gigs).
Wed., Sept. 27, 9:30 p.m. Plays & Players Theatre Club, 1714 Delancey St., $15, 215-735-0630, visit home.att.net/~lankina/sweetnighter

