“Ubiquitous” is not a slight, but an honor to bestow upon avant-jazz reedist Ken Vandermark, and cowpunk guitarist and vocalist Jon Langford. These musician-composers are at the top of their multiple musical genres, and experiment widely with other bands and combinations of their artistic prism. Vandermark plays improvisations and compositions ranging from hard bop to the edge of atonal, on his own, with DKV Trio, Marker, Cinghiale, and visiting jazz royalty from elsewhere. Langford, who escaped from Wales for Chicago, convenes the Mekons from around the world every other year or so for the punky-America side, the Waco Brothers for hard country, as well as Four Lost Souls, Skull Orchard and many more iterations. Don’t go through next year without watching them perform more than once, or perhaps you will perform with them? (Bart Lazar)
