The Bottle Tapes upcoming CvsD release

[romualdo]

Corbett vs Dempsey will be releasing (4CD & Bandcamp download) this various artists  compilation of live material from Chicago's "Empty Bottle"

I'm definitely in on this one

For the first time, a release of select music performed at Chicago's Empty Bottle in the heyday of the creative music boom of the 1990s. From 1996-2005, writer and producer John Corbett and musician and composer Ken Vandermark teamed up to curate a series of concerts, the Empty Bottle Jazz & Improvised Music Series. Together with annual international festivals, the series comprised more than 500 performances over its nine-year span, which was lauded in the international press and helped focus attention on Chicago as a hotspot for improvised music. The majority of the music was dutifully documented by Malachi Ritscher, from whose archives The Bottle Tapes: Selections from the Empty Bottle Jazz & Improvised Music Series, 1996-2005 is drawn. Over the course of six CDs, arranged in chronological sequence, the box set revels in the span of the music presented at the Bottle, from the hardest blown free jazz to microscopic free improvisation and other kinds of experimental music. The lineup incorporates nearly 100 international musicians, including Peter Brötzmann (who formed his Chicago Tentet at the Empty Bottle in 1997), Milford Graves (performing solo), a Bobby Bradford quartet with Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake and Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, the Dutch bands Available Jelly and Clusone 3, Von Freeman in his only performance with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink, Jim O'Rourke duetting with Cor Fuhler, Mats Gustafsson and Thurston Moore in their first face-off, Chicago Underground Quartet, Steve Lacy/Roswell Rudd Quartet, and much more. The package comes with a lavishly illustrated 64-page book, loaded with never-published photos and vintage ephemera, including Dan Grzeca's beautiful posters, as well as an in-depth essay by Corbett, with play-by-play notes on the music.

 

https://corbettvsdempsey.com/records/the-bottle-tapes/

[ejp626]

Most likely I'll get this, even though I very rarely made it over to the Empty Bottle.  One time I saw the Portico Quartet play there, which wasn't exactly typical...  And indeed that appears to have been 2010, so not even in this timespan.

[Niko]

It's 6 CDs, not 4... The Tracklist can be seen here at Bandcamp

https://corbettvsdempsey.bandcamp.com/album/the-bottle-tapes

Thanks for the hint!

[colinmce]

Ordered mine the other day, really looking forward to this one

[Steve Reynolds]

Easiest buy of the year:)

Just another version of Stone/Water alone is worth the price

True peak period for this music & this wide swath of musicians

 

Edited November 8, 2025 by Steve Reynolds

[John L]

Von Freeman with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink?  Nice. 

[jlhoots]

Count me in.

[clifford_thornton]

15 hours ago, Steve Reynolds said:

Easiest buy of the year:)

Yup.

Went to a number of jazz concerts at the Bottle between 01-03, when I was in Chicago for grad school. Hopefully some of what I saw is in here.

[Dub Modal]

Between this and the Griot Galaxy release it's been a bandcamp bonanza lately. 

[cliffpeterson]

Before shipping, DG is cheaper than CvD. 

[JSngry]

I thought that I had snoozed and looked. CvD advised me that out of the 500 hard copy sets they had ordered that the manufacturer (in Poland!) still had another 200 or so to deliver and most of those were going to vendors. She suggested reserving a copy at either Dusty zGroove or Forced Exposure.

Good advice, but when I went to Forced Exposure, they showed it as In Stock, so I ordered, and it looks like it's good to go.

So, Forced Exposure, yeah!

[colinmce]

On 11/8/2025 at 5:48 PM, John L said:

Von Freeman with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink?  Nice. 

Probably my favorite piece in the set. 

[JSngry]

On 11/26/2025 at 2:36 PM, JSngry said:

I thought that I had snoozed and looked. CvD advised me that out of the 500 hard copy sets they had ordered that the manufacturer (in Poland!) still had another 200 or so to deliver and most of those were going to vendors. She suggested reserving a copy at either Dusty zGroove or Forced Exposure.

Good advice, but when I went to Forced Exposure, they showed it as In Stock, so I ordered, and it looks like it's good to go.

So, Forced Exposure, yeah!

Arrive today. Less than a week via Media Mail!!!

Definitely doing business here again.

[ghost of miles]

Score! I also managed to get a copy through the Forced Exposure restock. Can't wait to dig into this!

[jlhoots]

Received what may be the last one from Dusty Groove!!

[clifford_thornton]

Backordered copy just arrived; I was glad to see several shows represented that give me fond memories.

[romualdo]

Attempted to order from Forced Exposure but shipping charges to Australia were obscene (more than the cost of the box set)

Hopefully Dusty Groove will receive more copies - their shipping charges to down here are much more reasonable