liner notes wolf kampmann (berlin, november 1997) gebhard ullmann - philosopher of the reed since its early days european jazz has had a dubious reputation as a mere copy of american models. and unfortunately it has confirmed this less-than-flattering assessment all too frequently. still, there are exceptions that have left their mark on the jazz world with such force that they've exerted a lasting influence even on american idioms and ways of playing. first and foremost among these are django reinhardt and stéphane grappelli. in later decades it was albert mangelsdorff, joe zawinul, krzysztof komeda, john mclaughlin, miroslav vitous, dave holland and peter brötzmann whose personalities directly influenced the american jazz scene. the '90s witnessed such a comprehensive diversification of jazz that direct lines of development have become difficult to trace. however, among the younger europeans whose aesthetic has had an impact well beyond the confines of the old world are guitarist wolfgang muthspiel and clarinetist louis sclavis, and definitely multi-reed player gebhard ullmann. ullmann, a traveler between different worlds, has come a long way, not only geographically, but most of all stylistically. he belongs to a generation of musicians who helped overcome the fixation of '70s jazz on athletic feats at the expense of musical and emotional expression. ullmann has always been a player for whom a personal voice is much more important than speed and technique. he is a bona-fide virtuoso, but he always applies his technique to the expression of musical ideas. in this way he became the central integrating figure of the berlin jazz scene, where he led many quite dissimilar projects or helped carry them with his unmistakable voice. with the minimal kidds he played minimalist structures against a new wave background; with die elefanten he unleashed rhythmic thunderstorms that reflected the unresolvable conflict and intellectual multidimensionality of the quintessential german novel, goethe's faust. with per-dee-doo he paid homage to the swing and bop eras; and in the duets with his longtime partner, guitarist andreas willers, he explored the cutting edge of creative music. his sources include jazz as well as numerous folk traditions, contemporary classical music, and visual art. ullmann integrates traditions without being absorbed by them. whatever the context, his personal interpretation helps expand the musical awareness of others, both performers and listeners. and no matter how abstract his playing, it always immediately conjures up visual associations. ullmann's second home is new york. what might seem difficult to embrace geographically is but a small step with respect to his energy and intention: life between metropoles. in his project basement research (cd on soul note) he combines the energy of the two cities and, spurred by the rhythm team of phil haynes and drew gress, he and ellery eskelin carry on almost telepathic reed conversations that have few equals in jazz history. equals of like mind, if different backgrounds, both are current representatives of an aesthetic which has raised the woodwinds above the level of mere musical instrument to become the existential barometer of jazz individualism. ullmann is a nomad. the traditions he absorbed during his extended tours across south east asia ('93), australia, new zealand, africa, the middle east ('80s) have found their way into his own language and compositions. "black cat" for example was composed in africa, and "oberschoeneweide" - originally descriptive of the industrial bleakness of that part of berlin - was given its final shape in south east asia; "oergarden's what?" was written in greece, while "think tank" was originally the score for a short film of the new york avant-garde. active mostly on soprano and tenor saxophone, flute and bass flute when he began, ullmann developed into a philosopher of the reeds during the '90s. he researched the authentic character of every single woodwind and extended his arsenal to include piccolo and alto flute as well as clarinet, bass clarinet and alto saxophone. the wider his instrumental range extends, the richer becomes the palette of this painter of timbres. when he reaches for an instrument it's not for its volume or technical possibilities but for its tone: he balances the narrative elements in his paintings by adjusting timbres within their sound spectrum. the most convincing realization of ullmann's new aesthetic is the tá lam project. but even in this part of his diverse output (spanning some twentyrecordings as leader or co-leader since 1984) ullmann the musical contortionist has initiated a rapid development of expressive possibilities. the first phase is marked by the release of the first cd, tá lam . ullmann confronts swiss accordionist hans hassler with a whole arsenal of wind instruments. up to sixteen instrumental layers are superimposed. what sounds electronic is revealed by close listening as neatly convoluted acoustic craftsmanship. theirs is a hand-made, human music that exudes a fragrance of wood and leather. ullmann leads his listeners into fantastic landscapes, evokes longing, and plays with a sense of deja-vu. more than ever he reveals himself the magician who knows exactly how to use the psychoacoustic characteristics of his instruments. he expands curves into planes, fills them with colors and lets these run into one another. he introduces terms from imaginary languages into his titles. musical and verbal onomatapoeia complement one another. the second phase of tá lam sees the transformation of the studio project into a live band. from among the numerous individualistic reed players on berlin's jazz scene ullmann selects the cream, placing his musical concept in the hands of seven other musicians. a performance at the berlin jazz festival gives rise to the group tá lam acht. where before he listened to the voices within himself and realized them through saxophones, flutes, and clarinets, now he listens to the voices of his partners grow into a dense, pleasing forest of woodwind sensations. ullmann is as much a master of ensemble interplay as he is of his own instruments; where before the edges of different instruments blended together, now the personal voices of the musicians do. out of a purely sonic panorama develops a multi-layered spectrum of impressions and expression arising from quite dissimilar personal backgrounds. on the second tá lam cd, moritat, ullmann takes kurt weill's theme for "mack the knife" and translates it with authority into his own musical idiolect. where other german musicians have been content to germanize weill's american musical idiom, he accepts the challenge of transposing this classic of 1920s german modernism into a jazz context. in the process he replaces the rhythm section with his wind section, complemented only by hassler's earthy accordion. precisely by expanding subjective expression through the inclusion of other players, ullmann is able to achieve a marked reduction in his musical means. he eliminates redundancy and unifies eight individual sources of inspiration in one stream of imagination. in any musical context he involves himself in ullmann doesn't stand out but rather becomes part of its creative core. it would never enter his mind to appear with a back-up band; instead he selects equal partners whom he provokes but also accepts as challengers. the source of ullmann's power -- preserving him from typical jazz disorders such as exhibitionism and artistic narcissism -- is not musical ego, but his personal voice. music is communication, and gebhard ullmann communicates across genres, generations, and geographic boundaries at the highest level.

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