Ullmann's
50th CD Available February 10, 2015 on Between the Lines
Featuring
Multi-instrumentalist/composer Ullmann with Steve Swell, Julian Argüelles,
Pascal Niggenkemper, Gerald Cleaver
Gebhard
Ullmann celebrates twenty years of his band Basement Research with a striking
new CD Hat and Shoes to be released February 10, 2015 on Between the
Lines. Featuring the renowned
multi-instrumentalist Ullmann, trombonist Steve Swell, saxophonist Julian
Argüelles, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, and drummer Gerald Cleaver, the band's
7th CD showcases improvisors at the top of their game and Ullmann's rich,
dynamic compositions. This is Ullmann's
50th CD as a leader/co-leader.
Basement
Research's first album - featuring Ullmann with Ellery Eskelin, Drew Gress and
Phil Haynes - was released in 1995 on the Italian label Soul Note. Many albums
later and following careful changes in the line-up, the consistency of the
research project is still clearly detectable: discovering the basis of
improvised music, the mechanism of musical dialog, the search for previously
unheard sounds and the secret of nonverbal, intuitive communication between
individuals. This only works live and in real time. It is not a matter of
chance that all previous six albums by Basement Research were released in
connection with or as the result of a tour.
This
tradition is being continued with Hat And Shoes. With the current line-up, you
can also hear how five musicians nimbly and apparently effortlessly tread their
twisting paths through a soundscape created in free improvisation. Chance does
not reign here, but instead each individual participant is equipped with a
precisely aligned compass that masters all orientation laws, but also
recognizes in split seconds where the right tone has to be using big ears.
Suddenly, a delicately arranged, groovy and driving theme shines through again:
but was that at all written? These questions do not count with Basement
Research, because all pieces are actually both: focused and according to plan,
but open for surprising twists and turns at the same time that none of the
protagonists may have anticipated. Gebhard Ullmann has scored a great success
with the choice of the current band members; Basement Research is just as
lively and fresh as two decades ago.
Gebhard
Ullmann, born in 1957, is one of Germany's leading musical personalities and
one of the most prolific and creatively fertile composer-improvisers working on
either side of the Atlantic. He has released 50 CDs as a leader and co-leader
and several have been chosen as among the best CDs of the year in DownBeat
Magazine. He heads numerous bands (among others, Tá Lam, Conference Call and
the Clarinet Trio) and is a sideman for Scott DuBois and Guenter Lenz, among
others. The always-busy musician has played with innumerable co-musicians from
William Parker to Keith Tippett, from Willem Breuker to Michael Riessler and
from Bobby Previte to Alexander von Schlippenbach. Ullmann has also received numerous prizes and
awards. Blessed with this rich treasure of experience in almost all jazz
styles, he is the engine of and source of ideas for Basement Research.
Steve
Swell (born in 1954) has played alongside Lionel Hampton and Anthony Braxton,
among others. His virtuosity is remarkable as well as is his range of
structuring options for sound, tones and lines of music. He is a leading figure
of the New York Downtown scene and is considered one of the leading trombone
players in today's jazz.
The
Englishman Julian Argüelles (born in 1966) became known to a larger audience
thanks to his participation in "Loose Tubes" and the "Carla Bley
Big Band" in the '90s. Subsequently, he has played alongside numerous,
known musicians from John Scofield to Dave Holland. He is also in demand as a
composer; he has been contracted to compose for numerous international
ensembles, many of which received awards.
Pascal
Niggenkemper, born in 1978, is one of the most renowned German and European
bassists performing today. He released two CDS with his New Yorker Trio (with
Robin Verheyen and Tyshawn Sorey), upon which critics lavished high praise. His
playing in the bands from Joachim Badenhorst to Gerald Cleaver also attests to
his skills.
Gerald
Cleaver (born in Detroit in 1963), 2013 "Rising Star" in the drum
category of the DownBeat Critics Poll, is considered one of the most important
drummers in contemporary music, a fact that he has clearly proven through his
collaboration with musicians such as Craig Taborn, Charles Gayle, Roscoe
Mitchell and Wadada Leo Smith.
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