Born: January 28, 1957 Primary Instrument: Bass, acoustic
Jazz bassist Kent Kessler is best known for his part in numerous Chicago bands, usually in line-ups with reedsman Ken Vandermark. He first began appearing on recordings in the early '90s as a member of Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble.
The band continued after Russell's death in 1992 with the addition of clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Vandermark. Kessler and Vandermark went on to play together in a number of bands that have revitalized Chicago's jazz scene, putting it back on the map of current avant-garde and free jazz.
The Vandermark 5, DKV Trio and Steelwool Trio are just some of the many groups that feature Kent Kessler's wide and gritty sound. He has performed and recorded with a number of leading European improvisers, such as German powerhouse Peter Br Ãtzmann (in his Chicago Tentet), Swedish avant-garde saxophonist Mats Gustafsson (in FJF), acclaimed Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg, and Dutch avant- garde saxophonist Luc Houtkamp. Kessler has also worked with legends that are closer to home, including Joe McPhee and Fred Anderson!
Through his many projects, Kent Kessler has toured all over North America and Europe and has performed on an increasing number of albums per year, mostly on the Chicago labels Okkadisk and Atavistic.
Source: Joslyn Layne
Atlas
Features: Ken Vandermark / Jim Baker / Jeb Bishop / Axel Dörner / Kevin Drumm / Per-Åke Holmlander / Kent Kessler / Fredrik Ljungkvist / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Paul Lytton / Tim Mulvenna / Dave Rempis
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet + 2
Short Visit to Nowhere
Features: Peter Brötzmann / Joe McPhee / Jeb Bishop /
Ken Vandermark / Mats Gustafsson / Mars Williams / Fred
Lonberg-Holm / Kent Kessler / Michael Zerang / Hamid Drake
/ Roy Campbell / William Parker
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet + 2
Broken English
Features: Peter Brötzmann / Joe McPhee / Jeb Bishop /
Ken Vandermark / Mats Gustafsson / Mars Williams / Fred
Lonberg-Holm / Kent Kessler / Michael Zerang / Hamid Drake
/ Roy Campbell / William Parker
DKV Trio
Trigonometry
Features: Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken
Vandermark
Territory Band-1
Transatlantic Bridge
Features: Ken Vandermark / Jim Baker / Jeb Bishop /
Axel Dörner / Kent Kessler / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Paul Lytton
/ Tim Mulvenna / Dave Rempis
Jeb Bishop Trio/Quartet
Afternoons
Features: Jeb Bishop / Kent Kessler / Tim Mulvenna /
Jeff Parker
Kent Kessler
Bull Fiddle
Features: Kent Kessler / Michael Zerang
AALY Trio / DKV Trio
Double or Nothing
Features: Mats Gustafsson / Kjell Nordeson / Ingebrigt
Håker-Flaten / Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken Vandermark
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
Stone/Water
Features: Jeb Bishop / Peter Brötzmann / Hamid Drake
/ Mats Gustafsson / Kent Kessler / Toshinori Kondo / Fred
Lonberg-Holm / William Parker / Ken Vandermark / Michael
Zerang
Joe Morris w/ DKV Trio
Deep Telling
Features: Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken
Vandermark / Joe Morris
DKV Trio
Live in Wels and Chicago
Features: Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken
Vandermark
Peter Brötzmann / Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler
Live at the Empty Bottle
Jeb Bishop Trio
Jeb Bishop Trio
Features: Jeb Bishop / Kent Kessler / Tim Mulvenna
Georg Gräwe Quartet
Melodie Und Rhythmus
Features: Hamid Drake / Frank Gratkowski / Georg
Gräwe / Kent Kessler
Peter Brötzmann
The Chicago Octet/Tentet
Features: Peter Brötzmann / Jeb Bishop / Hamid Drake
/ Mats Gustafsson / Kent Kessler / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Joe
McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Mars Williams / Michael Zerang
FJF
Blow Horn
Features: Mats Gustafsson / Ken Vandermark / Kent
Kessler / Steve Hunt
Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Kent Kessler
A Meeting In Chicago
Fred Anderson/DKV Trio
Fred Anderson/DKV Trio
Features: Fred Anderson / Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler /
Ken Vandermark
DKV Trio
Baraka
Features: Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken
Vandermark
Steelwool Trio
International Front
Features: Ken Vandermark / Kent Kessler / Curt Newton
DKV Trio
DKV Live
Features: Hamid Drake / Kent Kessler / Ken
Vandermark
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