Entries associated with the tag "Chicago Free Jazz":

The latest incarnation of the Vandermark 5, with cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm replacing longtime trombonist Jeb Bishop, has just released its first recording, A Discontinuous Line (Atavistic). The sonic differences aren't huge, and Ken Vandermark still borrows from a wide array of sources for his episodic tunes, but the new lineup has sanded away some of the postbop shimmer that was on the group’s last few albums. Lonberg-Holm thickens the stew, laying down pizzicato vamps and commentaries as other members take solos, and his bowed parts in the contrapuntal arrangements give the music more heft and a less burnished sound.             

What surprises me about the disc is that Vandermark hasn’t returned to the more raucous sound of the group's early days. Since Lonberg-Holm can kick up noise and chaos as well as anyone, I assumed (mistakenly, it turns out) that his involvement was designed to help the band pack a bigger wallop. While there are some intense passages, like the cellist’s heavy but groovy sawing on “Some Not All,” Vandermark explores a wide range of sonic possibilities on the new disc, which includes some the group’s most tender recordings.

The Vandermark 5, along with a trio of reedist Peter Brötzmann, V5 bassist Kent Kessler, and Lonberg-Holm, plays a record-release show on Wednesday, November 8, at the Hideout.

On Saturday the Sun-Times ran a small item about a man who had set himself on fire during rush hour Friday morning near the Ohio Street exit on the Kennedy. His identity has still not been officially determined, but members of the local jazz and improvised music community say they are certain it was Malachi Ritscher, a longtime supporter of the scene. Bruno Johnson, who owns the free-jazz label Okka Disk, received a package yesterday from Ritscher that included a will, keys to his home, and instructions about what should be done with his belongings. Johnson, a former Chicagoan who now lives in Milwaukee, began making calls. Police are still awaiting the results of dental tests, but Johnson says an officer told one of Ritscher's sisters that all evidence pointed to the body being his; his car was found nearby and he hadn't shown up for work since Thursday. 

Buried on Ritscher's web site Chicago Rash Audio Potential, a compendium of invaluable show postings, artwork, and photography, are a suicide note and an obituary. Both indicate that he was deeply troubled by the war in Iraq and pinpoint it as a motive for suicide (no method is specified), though there are indications that he may have had other issues as well. "He had a son, from whom he was estranged (at the son's request), and two grandchildren," reads the obit. "He had many acquaintances, but few friends; and wrote his own obituary, because no one else really knew him." Ritscher was a familiar face at antiwar protests, and he was arrested more than once for his involvement, including this time this past May. A note found at the scene of the immolation reportedly read "Thou Shalt Not Kill." 

Although Ritscher, who was in his early 50s, had played music off and on over the years, he was best known for his devotion to documenting other people's shows. Several nights a week for at least the last decade he could be found at places like the Empty Bottle, the Velvet Lounge, and the Hungry Brain; by his own count he recorded more than 2,000 concerts. Over the years he invested more money in equipment and as his skills improved, many of his recordings went to be used on commerical releases--by Paul Rutherford, Gold Sparkle Band, Isotope 217, Irene Schweizer, and Ken Vandermark among others. Ritscher was fiercely modest about these pursuits--I once tried to do a piece on him for the Reader but he declined, saying he didn’t want publicity.

Feel free to contribute your own comments or memories below.

Photos courtesy of Joeff Davis