Jazz Articles about Gebhard Ullmann

like

The Ullmann/Swell 4: News? No News!

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 15, 2010

Benché l'incisione sia a nome del multistrumentista tedesco Gebhard Ullmann e del trombonista americano Steve Swell ci piace partire dalla presenza di un batterista tanto importante quanto spesso dimenticato come Barry Altschul. Figura chiave del movimento post-free e dintorni (da ricordare almeno il supergruppo Circle e la lunga collaborazione con Paul Bley), incide nella prima metà degli anni ottanta una manciata di dischi a proprio nome per l'italiana Soul Note per poi far perdere le tracce, salvo qualche rara e ...

like 216

Ullmann-Swell 4: News? No News!

by Mark Corroto
March 13, 2010

It is difficult to decide, when listening to The Ullmann-Swell 4 disc News? No News! whether the choicest parts are composed or purely improvised. With such talent heard here in this mini-supergroup of saxophonist/bass clarinetist Gebhard Ullmann, trombonist Steve Swell, bassist Hilliard Greene, and drummer Barry Altschul, maybe the extreme pleasure that results is allowing that tug-of-war to play itself out.

This disc is the second by the quartet, following Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP, 2004). Ullmann and Swell ...

like 435

Ullmann / Swell Quartet: News? No News!

by John Sharpe
February 4, 2010

In these days of global jazz alliances, the partnership of downtown trombonist Steve Swell and German reedman Gebhard Ullmann won't raise too many eyebrows. More noteworthy is its endurance, spanning some six years since its auspicious inception with Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP, 2004). Swell is also a fixture in Ullmann's Basement Research band, another combo that shows similar staying power. News? No News!, a studio date on Berlin's Jazzwerkstatt imprint, constitutes a worthy successor to the CIMP, featuring ...

like 219

Gebhard Ullmann Basement Research: Don't Touch My Music Vol. 2

by Jerry D'Souza
August 6, 2009

When Gebhard Ullmann took his Basement Research into Krakow 's Alchemia Club to celebrate his 50th birthday, he recorded two sets of music. The first was released as Don't Touch My Music, Vol. 1. Like the first, this second set is unedited and unchanged, and shows just how intuitive and empathic the band is.

Ullmann's compositions encapsulate several idioms. He goes from blues to a march, transforming into free idioms without a twinge. And just as his writing is earthy, ...

like 260

Basement Research: Don't Touch My Music

by Jerry D'Souza
January 16, 2009

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Gebhard Ullmann lays down the ground rules without ado with the slam-bang title Don't Touch My Music. There should be no qualms about that, Ullmann's music is made to draw rapt attention. The closer one listens, the more there is to discover.

Ullmann brings in an evolving, and revolving, cast of characters to give voice to his music. Each ensemble brings certain attributes and direction to his compositions that absorb various strains to enrich them. Basement Research ...

like 1

Conference Call: Poetry In Motion

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 17, 2008

Il tessuto connettivo che riveste Conference Call è di quelli forti ed elastici allo stesso tempo, grazie ad una fitta trama di relazioni che caratterizzano i percorsi dei quattro musicisti coinvolti. Il formidabile sassofonista e clarinettista tedesco Gebhard Ullmann vanta un sodalizio decennale con il pianista Michael Jefry Stevens, a sua volta co-leader con il bassista Joe Fonda di un ensemble stabile che da più di vent’anni esplora con successo i territori del freebop. Il batterista George Schuller è l’ultimo ...

like 1

Gebhard Ullmann: New Basement Research

by AAJ Italy Staff
June 20, 2008

L’intreccio creativo di voci jazzistiche americane ed europee, non certo inedito nella storia di questa musica, risplende con forza in questo lavoro di Gebhard Ullmann. Il polistrumentista tedesco afferma una personalità di alto livello, in occasione dei suoi 50 anni, che gli suggeriscono di rivisitare parte del suo repertorio abituale con un nuovo organico. Il clarinetto basso e il sax tenore del leader incrociano il soprano e il baritono di Julian Arguelles (inglese emerso a suo tempo nei Loose Tubes); ...