Ideas

A trio recording bringing Chicago reed player Ken Vandermark together with the Oleś brothers — Marcin (bass) and Bartłomiej “Brat” Oleś (drums) — a partnership first sparked during the celebrated Alchemia residency jam sessions. Released by Not Two in 2005, Ideas captures the trans‑Atlantic chemistry between one of America’s most prolific improvisers and Poland’s foremost free‑jazz rhythm section in a dedicated studio meeting. Although the session was initially planned around compositions by the Oleś brothers, Vandermark steered the date toward a fully open‑improvised format, resulting in a document that reflects the trio’s instinctive rapport and shared commitment to spontaneous creation.

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Linear notes:

Our first contact with Ken Vandermark was just a handshake - at one of the concerts in Poland of the DKV formation. Marek Winiarski, the boss of NotTwo Records, introduced us to each other. Some time passed until we had the chance to play together for the first time. When the Vandermark Five gave a concert, at the Cracow music club Alchemia,we got together after and jammed. The idea of recording an album together was with us before the evening had ended. We had prepared original compositions for the recording session, but we talked before going into the studio, and after Ken Vandermark's suggest we decided for the recording to be one of the free improvisation. We normally work in different musical fields and despite that, or maybe just because of that, every meeting like this brings about a new experience, even a kind of journey into the unknown...