****½
- Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective/Free Jazz Blog
Sunday, April 07, 2019
"The combination of one trumpet and one reed instrument (clarinet or tenor sax, depending on the moment) offers the potential for space, but not on this LP. Ken Vandermark and Nate Wooley sound like one instrument, shifting between close harmony and contrapuntal constructions so tight that you couldn’t separate them with a crowbar. The duo has toured intensely and recorded two previous albums, culminating in this pithy pair of suites. Each man wrote the music to one side, and neither seems as interested in binary shifts between composition and improvisation as they are in fashioning their respective tendencies to test their instruments and themselves. This half hour-long album has coarseness, precision, comedy and surprise; what more do you need?"
Bill Meyer, Dusted, Dust Volume 5, Number 4, March 29, 2019
Ken Vandermark and Nate Wooley release their third recording as a duo, an LP entitled "Deeply Discounted/Sequences of Snow." Their first two albums, also released as co-productions between Audiographic Records and Pleasure of the Text, were critically acclaimed (East By Northwest [2014] received a 5 star review in the "Free Jazz Collective"; and "The New York City Jazz Record" stated that All Directions Home [2015] "showcases the strengths that have made the duo luminaries in their respective scenes."). In addition, their performance at Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, on May 16th, 2017 was heralded as one of the "Concerts of the Year" by "The New York City Jazz Record".
This latest album is an exciting new statement from the duo, featuring long-form compositions for the first time, written specifically for the LP format and developed while touring in North America during 2017. Nate Wooley's piece, "Deeply Discounted II," is inspired by John Cage's "Cheap Imitation" which, in turn, was inspired by Erik Satie's, "Socrate;" Ken Vandermark's composition, "Sequences of Snow," is dedicated to the visual artist and musician, Michael Snow, and was influenced by several of Snow's experimental films, such as "Wavelength," "Dripping Water," "La Région Centrale," "So Is This," and "See You Later."
supported by 28 fans who also own “Deeply Discounted II/Sequences of Snow”
Simply amazing to hear a new album with Wadada and Ewart!! ...And Reed rounds out this trio beautifully.
Just gave it my first spin. Absolutely magical. jeffrey maurer