ENDEIT
Ken Vandermark
Photo: Nomo michael hoefner / http://www.zwo5.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Saxophonists · b. 1964

Ken Vandermark

American jazz composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist

Born
22 September 1964
Warwick
Country
United States
Discography
56 albums

Biography

Ken Vandermark is a jazz musician who plays saxophone. Ken Vandermark was born on 22 September 1964 in Warwick. The music is usually filed under jazz. The discography here lists 56 albums, from “Concert for Jimmy Lyons” (1992) to “Unexpected Alchemy” (2025). Honours include MacArthur Fellows Program.

Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer and reedist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate improvisation. He has led or been a member of many groups, has collaborated with many other musicians, and was awarded a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship. He plays tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, and baritone saxophone. He was also a member of NRG Ensemble.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Concert for Jimmy Lyons 1992 · Live
Standards 1995
Utility Hitter 1996
Hidden in the Stomach 1997
Stumble 1998
Live at the Glenn Miller Café 1999 · Live
I Wonder If I Was Screaming 2000
Duets 2003
Furniture Music 2003
Brooklyn Cantos 2004
Ideas 2005
Foreground Music 2007
Immediate Sound 2007 · Live
C.O.D.E. - Play the Music of Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy 2008
Goofy June Bug 2008
Collected Fiction 2009
Fox Fire 2009 · Live
Strade D'Acqua / Roads of Water 2010
Mark in the Water 2011
Letter To A Stranger 2012
Interacting Fields 2013
Parallax Sounds OST 2013
Verses 2013
East by Northwest 2014
Extended Duos 2014 · Live
Lightning Over Water 2014
Nine Ways to Read a Bridge 2014
All Directions Home 2015 · Live
Rare Avis 2015
Resistance 2015
Site Specific 2015
The Lions Have Eaten One of the Guards 2015
Close Up (For Abbas Kiarostami) 2016
Momentum 1: Stone: Six Encounters in New York 2016 · Live
Paul Lytton & Ken Vandermark: English Suites 2016
Splinters 2016
Escalator 2017
Momentum 2 & 3 2017
Shelter 2017
Duol 2018
No-Exit Corner 2018
Noise of Our Time 2018
Deeply Discounted II / Sequences of Snow 2019
Kozmik Bazaar 2019
Largest Afternoon 2019
Scaffolding 2019
Screen Off 2019
Consequent Duos: Series 2a 2020 · Live
Consequent Duos: Series 2b 2020 · Live
Consequent Duos: Series 2d 2020 · Live
Consequent Duos: Series 2e 2020 · Live
Momentum 5: Stammer (triptych) 2021
The Field Within a Line 2021
Eternal River 2023
October Flowers for Joe McPhee 2025
Unexpected Alchemy 2025

Also plays on

Albums where Ken Vandermark is credited as a sideman

1998 1 / 2 / 3 — Brötzmann: The Chicago Octet / The Chicago Tentet bass clarinet, clarinet, tenor saxophone, reeds

Awards

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument does Ken Vandermark play?

Ken Vandermark is known for playing saxophone.

When and where was Ken Vandermark born?

Ken Vandermark was born 22 September 1964 in Warwick.

What are Ken Vandermark's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Concert for Jimmy Lyons (1992), Standards (1995), Utility Hitter (1996), Hidden in the Stomach (1997) and Stumble (1998).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.