Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ulrich Gumpert: Quartette

106

Ulrich Gumpert: Quartette

By

Sign in to view read count
Ulrich Gumpert: Quartette
German pianist Ulrich Gumpert incorporates the vitality of youth into this dazzling progressive jazz set, featuring young artists from the Berlin jazz scene. This quartet abides by a fire and brimstone credo, built upon snap, crackle and lots of pop. Yet one of the equalizers of the band's thrusting impetus pertains to its ability to generate airy and sparse bop movements, often acting like a counterbalancing agent of sorts.



They launch the proceedings with a cosmic blast during the free-bop opener, "Conference at Baby's. Elsewhere the quartet toggles between a tightly-wound modus operandi and an open-ended improvisational forum. In certain regions of sound and scope they communicate an ominous gait. Then on the peppery "Vom alten Lager, they intersperse free-form exchanges with a Thelonious Monk-type melody.



The title track is loaded with high-heat, largely due to Gumpert and Wolff's brusque unison choruses, as Jan Roder's lyrically-charged bass solo segues the group into a turbo-mode jazz waltz. But the high-flung excitement factor mellows out some during the dirge-like ballad "Von Hier und Anderswo.



Gumpert and associates perform within a rather misty plane that toggles between precisely arranged, swiftly executed movements and wide-open musical vistas that present more than a few surprises. With thrills a minute, tally this one up as one of the more adventurous prog-jazz releases for 2007.

Track Listing

Conference at Baby's; Vom alten Lager; Blue Circus; Quartette; Conference at Luten's; Von Hier und Anderswo; Conference at Conny's; Circulus Vitiosus.

Personnel

Ulrich Gumpert
pandeiro

Ulrich Gumpert: piano, composition; Ben Abarbanel-Wolff: tenor saxophone; Jan Roder: bass; Michael Griener: drums.

Album information

Title: Quartette | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Intakt Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.