Map Theory

Ken Vandermark's big band, and a vehicle for large-group experimenting. That means some of the tracks get into pointillistic, cerebral sounds ... although there's plenty of exciting free jazz as well, carried by bold, '60s-informed horn phrases. The band gets a 21st century sound from Kevin Drumm's noisy, crackling electronics.

Liner notes discuss the construction of the pieces, particularly useful on the two "Slides" tracks. Don't dismiss the slow tracks; they're pretty cool.

DISK 1
1- Off-balance, off-key march. Moves into funky groove by 5:50. Big frenzy ends 13:00, slipping into a nice relaxed trumpet solo.
2- Delicate, academic. Fairly quiet/serious but with nice steady flow.
After -4:00, gets raucous.
3- Fast-shifting improv with lots of phases including an electronics break.

DISK 2
1- Nicely loungy. Starts with relaxing mid/fast swing, then breaks into a faster segment for more aggressive solos. Deep funky stomp for the second half.
2- Improv, lots of shifting phases (see track 1.3) and more electronics.
3- Mostly quiet. Subsets of the band do sparse but active segments.