(Free Jazz) (((Powerhouse Sound))) (Ken Vandermark, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love, Nate McBride, Lasse Marhaug, Jeff Parker, John Herndon) - Oslo / Chicago: (((Breaks))) (2CD) - 2007, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

(((Powerhouse Sound))) is John Herndon (drums), Nate McBride (electric bass/electronics), Jeff Parker (electric guitar/electronics), and Ken Vandermark (tenor sax). Originally formed by Vandermark in the summer of 2005 with McBride and musicians from Oslo- Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (electric bass), Lasse Marhaug (electronics), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums)- the group shifted to a Chicago based unit in 2006. Both versions of the band recorded, and these different approaches to Vandermark's original material were released as a double cd called, “Breaks,” on Atavistic in the spring of 2007. The first set of compositions was inspired by the rhythmic ideas of James Brown, the dub concepts of Lee Perry, and the collage approach of Public Enemy. Much of the music was written from the perspective of the bass, building the material from the bottom up. The band has developed continually since its inception, and the new pieces composed for the quartet have stretched their aesthetic to include elements of Afrobeat, the post-Punk music of England (Wire, This Heat), and the later electric experiments of Miles Davis. Aside from a regular performance schedule in Chicago, the group has toured Europe (in the spring of 2007), and is planning an upcoming road trip of North America, connected to their invitation to play at the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival. Coinciding with this tour will be the release of their second album, a double lp issued by Laurence Family, called “Overlap.” Powerhouse Sound delves deep into a Funk-based expression of rhythm and time, their improvisations push against the edge of melodic expectation with an energy derived from underground Rock. In addition, the band has a willingness to rip the music into shards of texture, experimenting with shape and form. This unique combination of discipline and abandon sets the group apart from any other ensemble working today. ~ kenvandermark.com

(((Powerhouse Sound))) formed in the Summer of 2005, originally with Ken Vandermark on tenor sax, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten & Nate McBride on basses, Lasse Marhaug on electronics and on drums. Ken Vandermark composed tracks with the idea of building the music from the perspective of the bass instead of the more conventional approach of composition construction, "from the top down", as he puts it. "The three major influences I considered when putting the music together were the rhythmic ideas of James Brown, the dub ideas of Lee Perry and the collage ideas of Public Enemy." Their new Chicago-based touring line up, featuring Vandermark, McBride, Jeff Parker & John Herndon (Tortoise, Isotope) will continue to work from these original concepts developed at the band's inception. However, with the obvious shifts in personnel and differences in instrumentation, (((Powerhouse Sound))) is undoubtedly here to test any and all genre "qualifiers" used within the independent music industry today: witness (((PHS)))'s double-cd debut, Oslo/Chicago: Breaks! ~ jazzloft.com
Performed by two ensembles (one based in Scandinavia and the other in Chicago), both led by the Chicago musician Ken Vandermark, this double-CD set explores the possibilities of compositions written from the perspective of the bass guitar. Influenced by the work of such groundbreaking artists as James Brown, Public Enemy, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, Vandermark leads the two combos through a variety of different interpretations of pieces such as "Shocklee," which is done alternately as fractured jazz and exploratory R&B, and "Coxsonne," performed in both dub reggae and samba-style incarnations.(((Powerhouse Sound))) was formed in 2005, originally with Ken Vandermark on tenor sax, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten & Nate McBride on basses, Lasse Marhaug on electronics and on drums. For (((PHS)))'s double-cd debut Oslo/Chicago: Breaks, Vandermark composed tracks with the idea of building the music from the perspective of the bass- instead of the more conventional "top down" approach of composition construction, as he puts it. "The three major influences I considered when putting the music together were the rhythmic ideas of James Brown, the dub ideas of Lee Perry, and the collage ideas of Public Enemy." The Chicago-based touring line up, featuring Vandermark, McBride, Jeff Parker & John Herndon (both of Tortoise) continue to work from these original concepts developed at the band's inception... Yet (((Powerhouse Sound))) is undoubtedly here to test any and all genre "qualifiers" used within the independent music industry today! ~ cduniverse.com
(((Powerhouse Sound))) is another exploration in texture, dynamic, sonority and dramatic power for saxophonist and composer Ken Vandermark. Recorded in Oslo and Chicago with two different bands playing roughly the same material with some significant differences as well - Vandermark brought bassist Nate McBride (Vandermark 5) with him to Norway and recorded seven new tunes. The Oslo band contained another bassist in Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (both men played electric), drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, and Lasse Marhaug on electronics. In Chicago, in addition to McBride, Jeff Parker plays guitar, and John Herndon is the drummer. There seems to be an obvious nod to Ornette Coleman's In All Languages here, where he played roughly the same music with both an electric and an acoustic band. There are similarities to be sure, but the actual form and perhaps even the function of the tunes change as they are performed by these two groups. The Oslo versions are seemingly constructed with a kind of circular rhythm which everything evolves from and comes back to, but sonic noise disintegration is built into the breaks, whether those breaks are at the beginning as they are in the nearly 12 minute "Shocklee" (written for Bomb Squad's Hank Shocklee) in the middle, as in "King to Crown (For King Tubby)" or near the end, where it's done much more subtly in "Coxsone (For Coxsone Dodd)." In some tracks, such as "2-1-75 (For Miles Davis)" one can find the continuity of the beat on the bassists, one ever so slightly playing that rhythm and the other in the fray of sound created by the band. All of this said, it doesn't matter which tune is being played and these most certainly are tunes, not blowing exercises - the ensemble is plugged into a particular rhythmic concept (or polyrhythmic concept, as it were) where funk, Afro-beat, reggae, dub, grooved-out electronic jazz and even rock & roll all meet check out "New Dirt (For the Stooges)," that closes the Oslo set, where spooky notions of improvisations and inverted bass languages converge into something truly resembling a song, albeit one within a broken syntax they converge at the place where they all begin: rhythm. Tonality, sonorities and ambient noise are all used in effect to serve the broken beat and see where it leads before returning to its place of origin. In many ways the more conventional band with Parker and Herndon is more exciting. Given that there is less of a backdrop, Parker is relied on to be a kind of tonal sounding board. Rhythmic approach and communication between Herndon and McBride is lockstep, it finds a groove even in the freest moments and allows Parker to paint as Vandermark works on both melodic and harmonic fronts to become, in many ways, another rhythm instrument. He ties harmonic agreement to the grooves as it were, despite the free improvisation. For his own part, Parker is allowed to roam free, to follow sounds down winding paths and introduce new ones as he sees fit. Vandermark blows inside the grooves, always pointing to those chunky breakbeats played by Herndon. "Old Dictionary (For Bernie Worrell)," which opens the second disc, is a powerful introduction to the tight, on-the-dime playing this band is capable of. They combine tunes for the second disc, which is one of the more notable differences between the two. Exercises are named "King to Crown Pt. 1/Acid Scratch Pt. 2," or the medley of that second part of "Acid Scratch Pt. 2" is married to "Shocklee" and "Exit-Salida," and even the closing track "New Dirt" is mobbed up with "King to Crown, Pt. 2." For the cynics, these are not arbitrary assignations; nor are they done for the sake of mere artifice. They sound more like guideposts to an entirely new composition coming from the marriage of two or three earlier works, where rhythms shift and shape what comes from being informed by what has passed much in the same way Miles Davis played in the '70s with his electric bands. Improvisations are not dictated but decided on because of the groove quotient inherent in their individual parts. Vandermark finds a natural tension between the constancy of circular rhythm broken by a meta-textual musico-linguistic syntax of individual statements made from the conception of groove that moves out toward something else and finds itself home again in the primary communication at its center. The entire perception changes because of the interaction and the slippery, broken notion of those forms within it. Despite the more conventional lineup of the second disc, both sides are challenging and break out of the jazz box without ever drubbing it in favor of either simply free-blowing or avant-garde for its own sake. There is a very heady sense of discipline on both recordings and they need, if anything, to be played back to back to fully take in all the "newness" being put on offer here. Vandermark is one of the very best we have, and Powerhouse Sound brings an entirely new discussion to the table. ~ tom jurek, allmusic.com
This debut album by Ken Vandermark's aptly coined (((Powerhouse Sound))) arrives with a visceral one-two punch. More primal than his previous forays into rock and popular music forms, the ensemble rivals even his seminal quartet recordings from the early 1990s. Vandermark conceived (((Powerhouse Sound))) in the summer of 2005 to explore composition focusing on the bass, rather than writing from the proverbial "top down." Inspired by the rhythms of James Brown, the dub experiments of Lee Perry, and the textural collages of Public Enemy, Vandermark arrived at a concept more funky, electronic and rockin' than anything he's done before. Initially formed with a group of Scandinavians, the Chicago based leader decided to expand his experiment by forming a stateside touring ensemble with some local heavyweights. The set features one studio album by each ensemble playing a similar set of tunes, and the differences in instrumentation and approach reveal fascinating contrasts. Vandermark's decision to focus on tenor saxophone, rather than doubling on his other horns, is surprising. He is in fine form throughout, sounding focused and driven, his improvisations following a linear logic tethered to the group's varied rhythms, from smooth dub pulses to crushing rock beats. Equally surprising is Vandermark's decision to use the electric bass as the focal point of the project. Electronic sustain, subtle feedback and other EFX are used to maximize the creative potential of the often underappreciated bass guitar. With so much emphasis on this instrument, Nate McBride ends up being the session's unspoken MVP. But the appearance of guitarist Jeff Parker (his first official recording with Vandermark) is the most revealing surprise. Parker's numerous efforts have been well documented, from Tortoise to the New Horizons Ensemble, yet his impassioned live playing has never been properly caught in the studio, until now. Although his hollow-bodied guitar tone occasionally lends a more traditional feel, he is no slavish bop revisionist. Demonstrating an affinity for extreme noise, Parker channels Sonny Sharrock and Sonic Youth for his most out playing on record, using feedback, EFX loops and big, blocky power chords to generate a vociferous electric assault. Vandermark's collaboration with his Northern European brethren elicits a slightly different vibe than what he shares with his Stateside cohorts. The streamlined Chicago lineup is more adroit and often more aggressive. The Oslo sessions seethe with electronic textures, sampled voices and the added density of an extra bassist. Not all is scorch and burn, however, as there are numerous moments of respite and clarity, often arriving via hypnotic dub rhythms. With the Vandermark 5 moving ever closer to formal composition and extended pieces, ensembles like this allow the freewheeling, collaborative side of Vandermark's genius to be revealed. For those even vaguely interested in the man's work outside of his flagship ensemble, Breaks is not to be missed. ~ troy collins, allaboutjazz.com

CD1 (Oslo version):
Ingebrigt Haker Flaten - electric bass
Lasse Marhaug - electronics
Nate McBride - electric bass
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums
Ken Vandermark - tenor sax
CD2 (Chicago version):
John Herndon - drums
Nate McBride - electric bass
Jeff Parker - guitar
Ken Vandermark - tenor sax