Happy birthday, OkkaDisk

As George Costanza once said, a George divided itself cannot stand. If you have independent George over here, and you have relationship George over there, it’s best that these worlds not collide. Then again, this truism might only apply to balding neurotics that celebrate Festivus. Bruno Johnson, for one, has no problem with worlds colliding.

Around Milwaukee, Johnson is probably best known as the co-owner of Bay View bars Palm Tavern and Sugar Maple. Outside of Milwaukee, however, people know Johnson as the man behind the respected free jazz label OkkaDisk, home to luminaries like Ken Vandermark, Peter Brotzmann, and Fred Anderson. Those names might not mean much to those that don’t passionately follow the improvised music scenes in Chicago and Europe—i.e. nearly everybody on the face of the planet—but, trust us, they’re pretty major.

This weekend, Bruno the bar owner and Bruno the record label head will join forces to present concerts at Sugar Maple and Palm Tavern Friday through Sunday celebrating OkkaDisk’s 15th anniversary. There are four shows in all, including one tonight at 8 p.m., two shows Saturday, and a concluding concert Sunday afternoon.

One of the big players this weekend will be Vandermark, whose status as the focal point of Chicago’s alternative-jazz community is well-deserved. Even aside from his membership in a staggering number of bands (nearly a dozen at last count), he’s widely regarded as one of the bridges between the American jazz scene and such European masters as Brötzmann. Vandermark’s namesake group The Vandermark 5 tackles everything from free-jazz skronk to melodic, mournful grooves with equal aplomb, and the quintet’s shows are invariably inventive, dynamic free-for-alls. Here’s a clip of Vandermark performing with The Vandermark 5.