Musician & Composer

Ken Vandermark

Ken Vandermark (USA, 1964) is a renowned avant-garde composer, improviser, saxophonist/clarinetist, curator, and writer. He has collaborated and recorded with key figures from the AACM (Fred Anderson), FMP (Peter Brötzmann), British improvisation (Paul Lytton), post-punk (Terrie Ex), Ethiopian music (Getachew Mekuria), and Japanese free jazz (Akira Sakata). Since 2012, he has directed the Catalytic Sound cooperative and runs Audiographic Records (founded 2014). In 1999, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his contributions to music.

Calendar

Wed 26 November Nov

8:00 pm

Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark European Tour/Oslo, Norway: Kafe Hærverk

The high impact duo of Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Ken Vandermark (reeds) has been working together for more than two decades, touring in Europe, the United States, Japan, and […]

Thu 27 November Nov

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark European Tour/Stockholm, Sweden: Rönnells

The high impact duo of Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Ken Vandermark (reeds) has been working together for more than two decades, touring in Europe, the United States, Japan, and […]

Fri 28 November Nov

6:00 pm

Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark European Tour/Helsinki, Finland: We Jazz Festival, Café Shade

The high impact duo of Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Ken Vandermark (reeds) has been working together for more than two decades, touring in Europe, the United States, Japan, and […]

Sat 29 November Nov

7:00 pm

Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark European Tour/Helsinki, Finland: We Jazz Festival w/Tommi Keränen, Kulttuuritehdas Korjaamo

The high impact duo of Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Ken Vandermark (reeds) has been working together for more than two decades, touring in Europe, the United States, Japan, and […]

Fri 05 December Dec

9:00 pm

CATALYTIC SOUND FESTIVAL- Chicago Edition: Ikue Mori & Ken Vandermark Duo

Music legend and MacArthur Fellow, Ikue Mori, is the artist in residence at the Catalytic Sound Festival 2025: Chicago Edition and is performing three times during the event. […]

Fri 05 December Dec

9:00 pm

CATALYTIC SOUND FESTIVAL- Chicago Edition: Sharon Udoh’s “Potluck” sextet w/Angelo Hart, Fred Jackson Jr., Mabel Kwan, Avreeayl Ra, Ken Vandermark

Pianist Sharon Udoh premiers her new “Potluck” sextet at the Catalytic Sound Festival: Chicago edition, which features a lineup of Chicago all stars: Angelo Hart, Fred […]

Sat 06 December Dec

3:00 pm

CATALYTIC SOUND FESTIVAL- Chicago Edition: Lane Tech Workshop Ensemble w/Ken Vandermark

The Lane Tech Workshop Ensemble will return to perform at this year’s Chicago edition of the Catalytic Sound Festival. They’ll again be performing music composed by Ken […]

Sun 07 December Dec

3:00 pm

CATALYTIC SOUND FESTIVAL- Chicago Edition: Ellington Skeletons (w/Ben Hall & Ken Vandermark)

The Catalytic Sound Festival: Chicago edition presents Ben Hall and Ken Vandermark performing as Ellington Skeletons for a free concert at the Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery. The […]