It’s already an old video, but I came across it via the website of the Corbett & Dempsey label. In 23/10/2010, Ken Vandermark, Haavard Wiik and Chad Taylor, played at Centro de Artes do Espectáculo de Portalegre in Portugal. In the day after the concert, the musicians, the crew of Clean Feed and the recording team went to the village of Marvão. The Castle of Marvão is a well-preserved medieval castle located in the Portuguese district of Portalegre. The castle has a large cistern in which rainwater was collected to provide drinking water when the castle was under siege.
The resonance of the place proved to be the perfect invitation for Ken Vandermark to create an impromptu performance on baritone, luckily captured on camera. We know about the importance of the venue in which musicians perform, but like with John Butcher on various occasions, these resonating and echoing empty closed spaces are particularly inviting for saxophonists.
Enjoy the interaction between artist and space!