KEN VANDERMARK / PNL DUO Ken Vandermark (USA): tenor saxophone; clarinet PNL (Norway): drums; percussion The high impact duo of PNL (drums) and Ken Vandermark (reeds) has been working together for more than two decades, touring in Europe, the United States, Japan, and Brazil, and releasing 11 albums of critically acclaimed, wide ranging improvised music throughout that period. Though they have both worked in many other exceptional groups-such as the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet and Lean Left (with Terrie Hessels and Andy Moor of The Ex)- they have continued to return to their duo for more than 20 years because it remains crucial to their creative output.   PNL and Vandermark began this collaboration when they recorded their initial album, Dual Pleasure, for the label Smalltownsupersound, in 2002. Shortly afterward, they performed their first concert at the Molde International Jazz Festival. Since then, they've performed on an international basis every year. Their approach to the duo context is ferocious in its intensity, combining extreme rhythmic velocity with formal deconstruction and re-assembly, with the freedom to use any genre as a resource at any time. In many ways, PNL and Vandermark are more open in this setting than with any of their other playing situations, creating a unique approach to improvised music that is riveting in its ideas and execution.   The duo’s recent tours occurred in both Brazil and Japan during 2019. The pair returned to Japan in January of 2024, for a series of concerts that coincided with the release of the PNL & Ken Vandermark: JAPAN 2019 boxset of recordings, which includes collaborations with legendary Japanese musicians: Akira Sakata, Masahiko Satoh, and Yuji Takahashi.