Tenorist Fred Anderson made some fantastic albums for the Okka Disk label during the later years of his life – and this wonderful set has the legend making tremendous new fire with the label's excellent DKV Trio! Given that the group already features Ken Vandermark on saxes, the pairing of Anderson and Ken is a heck of a match – driven on strongly here by the bassist Kent Kessler, who's at the height of his powers during these years – and drummer Hamid Drake, whose range is maybe even more bold here than usual. Titles include "Planet E", "Lady's In Love", "Aaron's Tune", "Black Woman", "Our Theme", and "Dark Day". CD

When tenor player Ken Vandermark moved to Chicago in the early 90s, his presence began a set of ripples that ran through the city's jazz scene, and left traces that continue to transform the city to this day! One of those ripples became the DKV trio – a brilliant ensemble featuring Vandermark, bassist Kent Kessler, and percussionist Hamid Drake – a crack avant trio, with no end of imagination and creativity – stepping out here on a flagship recording for the Okka Disk label, maybe the most important force to document Vandermark's mighty talents during these early years! The recording features 5 tracks of varying length, from the 35 minute "Baraka" to the 8 minute "Soft Gamma Ray Repeater" – plus the titles "Figure It Out", "Consequence", and "Double Holiday". CD

Back in the 90s, the DKV trio were one of the strongest forces in the Chicago improvising scene – a great group that featured Ken Vandermark on reeds, Kent Kessler on bass, and Hamid Drake on drums – working together with a really boundless sense of energy! This set has the group making a great appearance at the Wels Music Festival in 1998 – stepping out in a way that's a bit different than some of their previous recordings. At the festival, the trio played their incredibly haunting version of Don Cherry's "Complete Communion", drawn out into an extended suite, with the addition of the group's "Memory Sketch", in homage to Cherry. That set is paired here with some material captured on the group's home turf in Chicago – featuring 3 long improvised tracks recorded at Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge. The Chicago material comprises a second disc in this 2CD set, and it includes the titles "Blues For Tomorrow", "Open Door", and "Burning Sky". CD

Excellent work from the trio of Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, and Kent Kessler! The 2CD set features tracks from two different live shows – one recorded in Rochester, the other in Kalamazoo, both during the group's 2001 tour of the US. Vandermark is ever-brilliant – still growing mightily as a player, and in a perfect power trio format here, working with Kessler's strong bass lines, and Drake's assorted percussion techniques. Includes a huge amount of Don Cherry tunes – such as "Brown Rice", "Awake Nu", "The Thing", and "Elephantasy" – plus readings of Sonny Rollins' "East Broadway Rundown", Joe McPhee's "Goodbye Tom B", and Ayler's "Love Cry". CD