The Vandermark 5 - Alchemia (2005) {12CD Box Set, Limited Edition}

These 12 full-length CDs document the Vandermark 5 playing at Alchemia, a major nightclub in Kraków, Poland, for a period of five evenings in March 2005. Over the course of well more than 12 hours of music, the quintet solidifies its reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting jazz groups of its time, as magic fills the air every night. It is difficult to imagine a more compelling set of modern jazz. The invigorated Polish audience welcomed the group enthusiastically, and the musicians responded with thrilling performances that summarize the state of the band, which was in peak form, and suggest the directions in which jazz is heading as a creative force. This is difficult music to categorize, if only because it relies on traditional concepts of melody and improvisation, but pushes hard to stretch and twist the limits of propriety. The box set is marvelously packaged, with a splendid booklet featuring an extensive interview with Ken Vandermark, and numerous photos in color and black-and-white. Musical highlights abound. There are consistently strong solos from the horns, with trombonist Jeb Bishop making a particularly fine showing. This was one of the last gigs in which Bishop performed as a working member of the band, and his focused, rough-hewn tone and rapid-fire technique are ubiquitous. Vandermark is clearly psyched for the gig, and he roars with abandon, with powering improvisations reined in only by the discipline of his arrangements. Most of the tunes were written by Vandermark, but he is careful to include at least one piece from composers such as Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Cecil Taylor, and Don Cherry each night. One of the most fascinating aspects of the extended blowout is how some of the songs are performed more than once, often on different nights. The patient listener can listen to the group experiment and refine its interpretations as the kinks are worked out. The last two CDs are jam sessions in which brothers Marcin Oleœ on acoustic bass and drummer Bartlomiej Brat Oleœ join the members of the quintet in various combinations, performing some freely improvised tracks and heads from Sonny Rollins' "East Broadway Rundown," Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Women," and Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing," among others. The Poles perform outstandingly, offering a glimpse at a burgeoning local jazz scene. This is one of those live recordings in which you wish you had been there, but thankfully, the box set documents it all, with great sound quality to boot. It is destined to be a classic of its genre.

~ Steve Loewy, All Music