Gebhard Ullmann Basement Research, Hat and Shoes

Is there a relation between where you live and the music you make? Always, I suppose, though often enough it is not easy to put in a short number of words. Gebhard Ullmann is an example of the complexity of that. He is a European who makes significant free improvisational jazz that has as much or more a relation to roots New York "New Thing" as it does to any "European School" of avant improvisation we may care to evoke.

This is beautifully clear in his Basement Research ensemble recording Hat and Shoes (betweenthelines 71238). The title reminds of Eric Dolphy's classic piece "Hat and Beard" and I am sure it is intentional, for the music here seems a modern extension of the later Dolphy ensemble ethos. Not in any obvious way, but there is a growth from the Dolphy trunk so to speak. Not just in Ullmann's excellent bass clarinet work--and tenor sax. But also in the ensemble's special collectivity, the compositions and how they jump start some really good group improvisations and solos.

He is very well served by the band he has assembled. The critically important Steve Swell joins the ensemble on trombone, as a key component of Ullmann's music over the years. Julian Arguelles makes a fine showing on baritone sax. And the rhythm team is excellent as well, with Pascal Niggenkemper on acoustic bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Some Europeans, then, some Americans, and a clear vision of the interpersonal freedom and compositional staging needed.

It is an album that excels extraordinarily well at pitting talented improvisers with vibrant material, like Dolphy's Out to Lunch only very much of today.

Everything and everyone comes together for a beautiful result, surely one of Ullmann's very best albums and some prime examples of the prowess of all the players. Don't miss this one!

Variable Density Sound Orchestra, Evolving Strategies

Guitarist-composer Garrison Fewell's Variable Density Sound Orchestra has made some excellent music in the past. The smaller ensemble heard in the album Evolving Strategies (Not Two MW911-2) has a particular resonance, in part because of the beauty of the compositions and their improvisational fulfillment, and in part because they are some of the last recordings made by the avant titans John Tchicai and Roy Campbell, Jr., both of whom were tragically taken from us not so very long after.

The band as a whole is every bit as good as the illustrious nature of the names. OK, perhaps bassist Dmitry Ishenku is not very well known, still he is very good. But then there is trombone master Steve Swell, who graces the session with his rangy expressions and a composition that stays long in the mind, "Mystical Realities," with a very groovy ostinato and a head melody that matches it. John Tchicai is on tenor and gives us two of his compositions and some beautiful improvisations. Roy Campbell reminds us why he is so missed on trumpet, flugel and flute. Reggie Nicholson turns in as always the right performance, with an impeccable feel and touch on drums. And then there is the leader, Garrison Fewell, with his very smart guitar freedom and exemplary compositions.

These are players at the peak of modern avant jazz and they perform accordingly. Whether collectively or singly they come through with sterling utterances that could serve as models for what the state-of-the-free-art is all about today. The compositional frameworks are both sophisticated and down-home at the same time, reminding at times of what was so exciting about the work of AACM artists in the first years of their blossoming (and after, surely).

It's an album you grow into each time you hear it, so that by now it is a recent favorite for me. It is that good and so much worth hearing and having. Get it!

Platform 1 Takes Off, with Ken Vandermark and Steve Swell

Platform 1? The name of a very lively "free jazz" quintet. Platform 1 Takes Off (Clean Feed 255) is the name of what I take to be their first CD as a unit.

It's Magnus Broo on trumpet, Steve Swell on trombone, Ken Vandermark on tenor and clarinet, Michael Vatcher, drums, and Joe Williamson on bass. All but Vatcher contribute compositions for the outing, and they have a memorable head blast off quality.

The rhythm section is loose and first-rate. The front line gives us extroverted improvisational joy and collective madness of the best sort. Swell and Vandermark come though as expected with their well-developed artistry. Magnus Broo holds his own among them.

It's a beautifully performed set of modern, cutting edge avant improv. Those who know these folks from past haunts will not be disappointed; those coming to this music for the first time, with a little patience, will find themselves digging in and digging the sounds, I certainly think. Yes!

Steve Swell's "Nation of We" Large Ensemble Needs Your Support

I don't usually involve my blogs with Kickstarter projects. But I am making an exception. Trombonist-jazz composer Steve Swell is a leading light of modern jazz on the New York scene. His Nation of We comprises some of the Big Apple's finest improvisers playing the music of Steve Swell. The economic logistics of getting advanced big band music out is complicated. There is a new Nation of We album slated for release shortly, but the economic reality is that the label cannot afford to pay the musicians for their work. Steve has turned to Kickstarter to raise the money for this. The deadline is August 28th. They need to raise at least $3,000 by then or they will not get anything at all. Click on the image on this page to get the full details. Chip in one dollar, chip in more. All of it will help!

Be a part of the creative jazz scene by helping fund its existence. Thanks for reading.

The Ullmann-Swell 4 and Their "News? No News!"

This exact band (Ullmann, reeds; Swell, trombone; Greene, bass; Altschul, drums) recorded on Cadence in 2004, producing a rather exciting disk which I've reviewed in a posting on this site (see below). They return with a superb avant jazz set today on the Jazzwerkstatt release News? No News! (Jazzwerkstatt 068).

This is a well-matched set of players. Gebhard Ullmann plays a raucous, probing tenor and a snaky, fleet bass clarinet; Steve Swell is one of the handful of truly premier avant trombonist working today, a master of projection and color, extroversion and subtlety; Hilliard Greene plays a foundational bass that figures prominently in all that happens on this album. He is a rock. Barry Altschul has been an important innovative force in jazz-improv drumming ever since his seminal work with Paul Bley and Chick Corea, among many others. He sounds better than ever here. Whip-snap swing and a melodic approach to the full drum kit are what you expect from Mr. Altschul, and you get it here, for sure.

With my descriptions above, you might expect that this music just HAS to be good. Sometimes a group that should be really terrific on paper never seems to get it going in real time. That is not true here. This is modern improvisational avant jazz at its finest. But be careful. You may wake up your cat when you play it!

Steve Swell with Roswell Rudd, 1996

We turn back the clocks today as those who follow the US time schedule did this past Sunday morning. Today we go back to 1996 and an album by the Steve Swell Quartet, Out and About (CIMP 116). It's a trombone summit of sorts between the leaders of two generations of avant expression. Steve Swell heads up the quartet and provides the blowing vehicles and Roswell Rudd joins that band as a key fellow front-liner. The unit is rounded out in effective fashion by bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Lou Grassi.

Maestros Swell and Rudd top the list of important players who work with the extroverted free approach to the horn. Mr. Rudd was one of the pioneers of the new thing and remains vital today; Mr. Swell has extended and built upon the over-and-out trombone approach that Rudd helped establish.

Out and About brings out the best in both. They seem to feel completely at home musically in one another's presence; they come through with excellent avant solos and double solos throughout. It's all of course serious but there is some humor there as well. Like on the number "Start Up," in which Steve has worked out a head melody using the rhythmic structure of "This Could Be the Start of Something Big," but decidedly not the pitches!

Out may not have been the first recorded meeting of the two bonemasters and they continue to get together musically, so it isn't the last. But is no doubt one of the best. It's a recording no adherent to out bonedome should forgo. A modern classic! See the Cadence link to find out more.

Ursel Schlicht, Steve Swell and Sound Quest, 2001

I first came across pianist, improv-composer Ursel Schlicht in a concert posted on the web. I think it was WKCR's old site. It was Ms. Schlicht and windologist-flautist Robert Dick in duo. I liked what I heard. One thing led to another and I hold in my hand the jewel case for Ursel Schlicht/Sound Quest's 2001 CD Implicate Order (Cadence Jazz 1140). This consists of a live appearance of the group in Kassel, Germany.

It's a good lineup: Schlicht of course on piano, the master Steve Swell on the trombone, Ken Filiano, bass, and Lou Grassi, drums. They are joined by Martin Speicher on alto for one number.

This is the sort of improv collective that can do the rolling thunder or quiet down for a new music sort of give and take. Ursel's piano has a nicely burnished tang to it. She plays interesting lines that stretch the harmonic-tonal base when there is one, and otherwise puts together thoughtful, well-considered phrases. The pieces are all band collective improvisations with the exception of one Schlicht composition, which is quite interesting.

Steve Swell sounds great throughout. Ken Filiano and Lou Grassi give you a free rhythm section that listens and strikes out on its own as well.

Highly recommended. Go to www.cadencebuilding.com and click on the CJR link to get more details on this recording. They also have one on CIMP, which I most definitely will want to be hearing. Stay tuned.

Steve Swell, Gebhart Ullmann, Desert Songs, 2004

The thing about most, if not all of the music covered in this blog is that it does not expire. The CD package does not provide a "good until [x date]" notice on it. If the music is worthwhile, it will fill your ears for far longer than a single season, and not as an oldie either. So if I am only now reviewing a CD from 2004, it is with the idea that the music contained within it is timeless.

We are talking about the Gebhard Ullmann-Steve Swell Quartet and their Desert Songs and Other Landscapes (CIMP). I'll tell you why I think this recording is important. First off, it has a really dynamic and exciting series of interactions between Ullmann on tenor or bass clarinet and Swell on the trombone. Gebhard may not be all that familiar to many listeners, but listen to his command and fluidity on this one and you'll wonder why. Steve Swell is the modern trombonist personified. He has great tonal range, power and very inventive and eloquent improvisational vocabulary, all in great evidence here.

Second, this recording features drummer Barry Altschul in fine form. He has a busy style that pushes the band mercilessly and inspires the front line to ever greater heights of energy and inspiration. Since his halcyon days as a key member of Circle, then the Braxton and Rivers groups and finally in a series of recordings with his own bands, he established himself as one of the premier drummers of the new music. In the period that followed, at least in the States, he wasn't quite as visible (or I should say, audible). This recording surely helps re-establish Mr. Altschul at the forefront and you can hear how his playing has developed considerably as well. Bassist Hilliard Greene fits right in with everything and meshes with Barry in classic free-form fashion.

Third and finally, the compositional frameworks, improvising routines and overall ambiance of this record make for a superior session. Things are just right for a meaningful gathering, and that's just what takes place. See the CIMP link on this page for more info.

Steve Swell Blazes Forth Again, 2003

I have covered a number of trombonist Steve Swell's albums so far in this blog. Here we have another. Why so much of Mr. Swell? Because I happen to be listening to some of his releases, catching up on what I have missed. And because he is an amazing player, important to the contemporary scene. Today's disk is Swell in a group called the New York BrassWoodTrio. It includes the very together playing of Tom Abbs on bass and tuba, and a very simpatico Geoff Mann on drums, cornet and glockenspiel. Still in Movement (CIMP, recorded 2003) contains nine original pieces that live up to the title of the disk. The group moves deftly through a series of routines that show their improv prowess in a very good light. Amazing are the moments where the band turns into a brass trio via the doubling of Abbs and Mann.

Most amazing though is the improvising of Steve Swell himself. Listen to him on this set if you have any doubt of what he can do. He's very earthy, brash, a player who can overwhelm you with his sheer power and virtuosity. He does that throughout. The patented CIMP recording technique of minimal miking, letting the natural dynamics of the band and the room dominate, lets the music shine through from beginning to end.

Am I shilling for Steve Swell and CIMP? Hardly. Nobody pays me to say these things. I am rather fiercely independent and happen to be an enthusiast of the player and the label concerned because both offer an exceptional experience of the music today. So if you read further coverage of either here on these pages in the future (and you will), you'll understand why. And that goes for everything I review. I follow the muse, not necessarily industry trends.

Check out more on Still in Movement at http://www.cadencebuilding.com/.