The core quartet of Gulfh of Berlin — Gebhard Ullmann on tenor saxophone & bass clarinet, Gerhard Gschlossl on trombone & sousaphone, Johannes Fink on double bass & cello and Jan Leipnitz on drums & objects — are heard in the studio with guest Michael Haves providing live sound processing, expanding the sound of Gulfh's innovative sound-sculpting avant jazz
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2021 Country: USA Packaging: Digipack - 3 panel Recorded at Low Swing Studio, in Berlin, Germany, on March, 6th 2018, by Guy Sternberg.
"Few improvising artists can boast the stream of creative ideas that seem to bubble from Gebhard Ullmann. Ullmann focuses on the fundamentals of improvised jazz: melody, sound, syncopation and technical excellence, but what makes his writing and playing so successful is his seemingly neverending innovative nature: without grasping for neoteric straws, Ullmann's performances are grounded in the past but plunge forward deliberately toward modernity. Ullmann leaves the strong mark of a disciplined sculptor of sound, who speaks his own compelling language."-Steve Loewy, Cadence
"This chord-less German ensemble called Gulfh of Berlin is composed of musicians with an incredible capacity of adaptation to different settings. Their approach actually goes places as they boast a strong reeds/brass frontline with Gebhard Ullmann and Gerhard Gschlossl in command, and a quirky rhythm section made of bassist/cellist Johannes Fink and drummer Jan Leipnitz. Rounding out the group here is Michael Haves, invited to be at the wheel of the live processing.
The rhythmically interesting "Nether" touts a drifting flow, going along with a fresh beat-making that occasionally verges on dark industrial rock. With the conspicuous sousaphone vaulting the texture with its special tone, we also have a bass statement that ends up in a pitched murmur.
"K3" remains in a perpetual ambiguity and suspension regardless Leipnitz's intentional sizzling cymbals, whereas "Serenade" adopts a swinging posture, exhibiting the horn players in animated conversation before focusing on a long, one-note drone with noisy electronics atop.
"Tellus" brings Ullmann to the fore. At some point, he switches the acrobatic tenor sounds for a timid, multiphonic bass clarinet, being followed closely by octave-modulated brass and the measured fragmentation of the drums. Although enjoying total freedom, the bass ends up with a regular pulsation.
The highly experimental "Joja Romp" probes uncharted territories with a visionary multi-genre approach, revealing vague Eastern connotations in the melody before inhabiting a transitory darker space that leads to a 'batucada' cadence. Tropical bass flavors are added to connect the eclectic contemporary dots.
The eruptive "Mann Aus Dem Himmel" and the squirrelly improvised "5 Elements" fall into more traditional avant-garde territory. The former, marked by kinetic drumming and sturdy tenor, progressively emphasizes the electronics; the latter bears the energy of rock, which is complemented with croaking cello and Ullmann's defiant attitude on tenor in opposition to a more meditative and melodic course taken by Gschlossl on the trombone.
These musicians take absolute control of their instruments, making music that you've probably never heard before."-Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail