Eugene Chadbourne
Milo Fine
Reissue:
Ken Waxman
Bruce Lee Gallanter
Reiner Kobe
Berthold Klostermann
Eugene Chadbourne
This septet was recorded over three different sessions at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, during the years when that venue was considered part of West Germany. These musicians represented some of the better players from East Germany, no doubt making one of their rare trips across the wall for a festival appearance. Although much of this type of playing was also documented by the West German FMP label, for really extensive documentation of the once-thriving East German jazz scene the listener must search out vinyl such as this, released on what was a government-sponsored free jazz label. A really hot rhythm section pins down this saxophone-heavy lineup, with compositions from several band members providing badly needed organization to the flow of energetic and often extremely noisy improvising. Trombonist Conrad Bauer comes up with great playing, while alto saxophonist Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky hits some notes that will make facial hair stand straight up. Followers of free jazz may wonder why a trip to East Germany might be necessary with what is often considered an American art form. Yet this music was a very important form of expression under the old, totalitarian East German system. For many listeners as well as players, it really represented freedom. It has great power and, to paraphrase the title of a book by jazz author and photographer Valerie Wilmer is as "serious as your life."
from: All Music Guide
Milo Fine
Echos features drummer Günter Sommer along with the leader Ulrich Gumpert on piano, trumpeter/flugelhornist Heinz Becker, reed men Manfred Hering, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky and Helmut Forsthoff, trombonist Conrad Bauer, and bassist Klaus Koch playing 5 compositions. The pieces are as far ranging as one could imagine. Each takes the musicians through at least several areas. Approaches explored include the blues, a beer hall waltz, slightly classically-tinged themes, dramatic cadenzas, duo, trio and small group improvisations done in free form style etc. It would be difficult to isolate highlights as all the musicians take creative, energetic solos & have a solid, natural feeling for the written sections. There is a definite European edge to the music, but as “Blues” shows, these guys can swing like mad. The pieces are also nice in that they unfold quite gradually for the most part. If one ha never heard the players from the other side of Germany, check this album out, and the temptation will be there to check out other FMP albums featuring these musicians (in as ranging from duos to octet) as well as trying to obtain the state-owned record label appearances of these musicians.
from: Cadence Magazine # 9, September 1980
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| Ulrich Gumpert Workshop Band (Horn Section) | Photo: Dagmar Gebers (1979) |
About the JazzWerkstatt reissue:
Ken Waxman
Maybe it could have been called The Great Unknown. Certainly the American focus of improvised music until the last century’s last couple of decades meant that some of the most exciting sounds extant were unknown and literally unheard by many people who should have known better.
Case in point: East German pianist/composer/arranger Ulrich Gumpert. During the 1970s, as these two exceptional sessions demonstrate, with his small group Synopsis – later renamed Zentralquartett – and his Workshop Band, the Berlin-based pianist was making music that was in many cases superior and definitely equal to any American sounds. Unfortunately Gumpert and his associates labored under a double whammy. Not only were they playing in Europe – which for Yank jazzbos of the time was no more than a destination for out-of-work American legends – but they doing so in the Eastern Block when the Berlin Wall and the Cold War were still part of everyday life. (…)
Four and five years later an additional four voices give Gumpert and the others supplementary textures and colors that are utilized with brio in live performances. Especially valuable is the thumping and walking bottom provided by bassist Klaus Koch (1936-2000), who for a time replaced Bauer in Synopsis. Overall though, the solos, compositions and band performance on both volumes of the collection are of such high standard that’s it’s difficult to rank any single track as more exceptional than others. (…)
It’s more of the same on the Workshop Band’s second CD, recorded one year later, with Helmut Forsthoff in for Antonow. The ensemble’s eighth member is alto and tenor saxophonist Manfred Hering, though the supposition is that the alto solos are by Petrowsky.
Sardonically original, some pieces on the disc manage to shoehorn Germanic marches as often as big band swing into the performances. More interesting are “Blau Blusen Blues” and “Hilferuf einer Schnecke”. The later manages to find room for atmospheric cymbal echoes, gong resonation and yodeling from Sommer – who composed the tune – with Ziggy Elman-like lead trumpeting plus barnyard sonic approximations from the brass and harsh split-tone cries and tongue slaps from the reeds. As the trumpeter and trombonist whiz by with arching triplet slurs, Sommer smacks and drags beats from his kit and Gumpert dynamically fans the keys so that the resulting portamento link chromatically prods the piece forward. Following staccatissimo horn action, pitched well above normal range, the reeds continuous repeat a distinct and newer leitmotif as the pianist softens his touch for a climatic summation.
“Blau Blusen Blues” is a Bauer-composed blues where Basie-like keyboard comping, Koch’s walking bass and typically boppish ching-ching cymbal pulses from Sommer confirm its links to the tradition. For contrast however, on top of inchoate pulses from the horns, Gumpert transforms metronomic tinkles to downward stair-step runs and Petrowsky extends his biting multiphonics with chirps and glottal punctuation. Stop-time, the circling horns then reach a crescendo of connected timbres with Mingus-influenced orchestral vamps and flutters. A glissando from the pianist wraps up the performance.
Too many listeners missed out on these first-class discs first time out. Those that didn’t will want to hear them again. Everyone benefits.
from: JazzWord, January 7, 2009
Bruce Lee Gallanter
Reissue of FMP LPs #s 0600 and 0710 from 1978 and 1979 respectively. Featuring Ulrich Gumpert on piano, Heinz Becker on trumpet, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowky, Manfred Hering, Iri Antonow & Helmut Forsthoff (2nd disc only) on saxes & clarinet, Connie Bauer on trombone, Klaus Koch on double bass and Günter "Baby" Sommer on drums. Now that I've got a copy of this gem in my hands, I realize that it is a reissue of two early FMP albums, long out-of-print and pretty rare. I only know of about half of the members of this fine nine-piece band, but I was knocked out nonetheless. Since checking out Ulrich Gumpert's other great disc on JazzWerkStatt called, 'Smell a Rat,' I've checked out his history. Mr. Gumpert can be heard on more than 20 albums performing solo, duos with Günter Sommer & Steve Lacy, plus being a member of the great Zentralquartett.
The first disc is titled 'Unter Anderem: 'N Tango Für Gitti' and was recorded in July of 1978. It starts with a march called "Marsch" and if you know the great Creative Orchestra Music record by Braxton, you know that even a march can be a great thing. Anyway, it features a cool drum solo, a siren and crafty arrangements. "Königskindisch" is a joyous piece that keeps changing styles and features some great sax by Iri Antonow. I dig the way Ulrich splits the band up by having two themes going on at once, with an amazing solo by Heinz Becker on flugel. "Aus Baby's Wunderhorn" features some swaggering horns, burning freely in parts and eventually swinging hard. Bassist Klaus Koch sounds great throughout, sometimes burning furiously and always holding things together. The unstoppable, Connie Bauer, takes an incredible solo towards the end of the first side. The second long side is even better with more powerful arrangements and playing in the Keith Tippett Group mode. Each of the three fines saxists gets a chance to take strong solos as do the trumpet and trombone players. Ulrich's inspired and at times crazed piano also keeps the rest of the rhythm team on their toes as they move though different sections. The recording is also consistently superb and perfectly balanced.
'Echos von Karolinenhof' was recorded in March of 1979 in Berlin with Helmut Forsthoff replacing Iri Antonow on tenor sax. It begins with "Hahnenkopf" an odd, sort of goofy piece that starts one way and soon moves into some intense free and furious space. Although there are free sections, the entire piece does sound well worked out in advance with some selectively placed charts. "Septettfragment" has some monstrous, blasting horns, but again is balanced by more somber written sections with some eerie drones floating on top. Perhaps it is Helmut Forsthoff's burning, bent-toned tenor that is featured on this piece - I'm not sure who it is, just that it is amazing. On "Blau Blusen Blues," the trombone and sax both solo at the same time while the rest of the band burns underneath. The rich horn harmonies on the title track are again inspired and most memorable. The final piece begins sparsely with haunting cymbals and distant vocal sounds and includes bent vocalized horn sounds, tight conducted blasts and a great deal of unexpected twists and turns. Overall, it is indeed a magnificent work that takes us places we never thought we would end up in. Special thanks to JazzWerkStatt for unleashing these two little known early FMP LP treasures.
from: JazzLoft 2008
Über die JazzWerkstatt Wiederveröffentlichung:
Reiner Kobe
Mit einem weiteren Paukenschlag kann das Jazzwerkstatt-Label aufwarten: der Wiederveröffentlichung zweier zentraler Alben des DDR-Jazz, die 1978/79 von der FMP veröffentlicht wurden und nun erstmals auf CD erhältlich sind. Es handelt sich um die 1978 aufgenommene Studio-LP „Unter anderem: N’Tango für Gitti“ und die „Echos vom Karolinenhof“, den Live-Mitschnitt vom „Workshop Freie Musik“ 1979. Die einst vom Pianisten und Komponisten Ulrich Gumpert formierte Workshop Band versammelte die wichtigsten Improvisatoren des DDR-Jazz, in den Jahren des Umbruchs, als immer mehr Jazzmusiker zu neuem Selbstbewusstsein fanden. Einer von ihnen war der aus Ostthüringen stammende Gumpert, der sich entschieden und konsequent vom amerikanischen Ideal abwandte. Er arrangierte deutsche Volkslieder aus dem 16. – 19. Jahrhundert und nahm sie als Ausgangsbasis freier Improvisation. Die Spielverläufe, sowohl kollektiv als auch individuell solistisch, waren heterogen gestaltet, die das Ganze als Collage erscheinen ließen. Hymen, Märsche und Walzer erscheinen auch aus heutiger Sicht in neuem Licht, Swing-Themen und Bebop-Fragmente werfen Schlaglichter auf die Jazz-Tradition, will sagen das andere Jazzverständnis. Das Oktett agiert großartig: Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky bläst wilde Attacken und verlässt dabei den Elfenbeinturm des Free Jazz, Schlagwerker Baby Sommer gibt sich kraftvoll berstend, mal sinnierend sensibel, Klaus Koch schlägt den Kontrabass perkussiv an, dann swingt er wie in besten Basie-Zeiten, Conny Bauer entlockt der Posaune immer wieder neue Klänge, Klangflächen gar, vorgetragen voller Ausdruckskraft in schwirrendem Gestus, Manfred Hering setzt dem kontrapunktisch nervige, überblasene Saxophontöne entgegen, untermalt von der gestochen scharf intonierten Trompete Heinz Beckers, die oft wie eine vibrierende Stimme daherkommt. Schließlich spiritus rector und ideenreicher Komponist Ulrich Gumpert. Er lenkt jederzeit, streut Floskeln auf dem Piano ein, gibt Impulse. Er prägt die Workshop Band – bis zu heutigen Tag. Er ist, wie Bert Noglik kenntnisreich im Booklet schreibt, „dem kritischen in den siebziger Jahren entwickelten Ansatz treu zu bleiben, auch wenn sich die Themen und die personelle Besetzung der Band gewandelt haben“.
aus: Jazz Podium # 4, April 2004
Berthold Klostermann
Zwei Klassiker aus DDR-Zeiten im Doppelpack: „Unter anderem: ’n Tango für Gitti“ und „Echos von Karolinenhof“. Im gemeinsamen Slipcase verbergen sich die Originalcover des Berliner Labels FMP, das sich um die internationale Verbreitung und Anerkennung der DDR-Avantgarde so verdient gemacht hat. Hier haben wir es mit einer veritablen All-Star-Band zu tun. Ihr Kern war das 1973 gegründete Quartett Synopsis (später: Zentral quar tett), das von dem Pianisten Ulrich Gumpert gelegentlich zur achtköpfigen Work shop Band erweitert wurde. 1972 hatte es ein größerformatiges Pilotprojekt gegeben, doch erst das Oktett erwies sich als langlebiges Ensemble. Name und Kon zept erinnerten an die Jazz-Workshops von Charles Mingus und unterstrichen den experimentellen Charakter der Gruppe und ihre Suche nach Möglichkeiten, komponiertes Material (durchweg von Gumpert, Conrad Bauer oder Günter „Baby“ Sommer) mit freier Improvisation zu verbinden.
Was bei diesen Einspielungen aus den endsiebziger Jahren nicht immer bruchlos gelingt. Selten sind die solistischen Beiträge themenbezogen, bei suitenartigen Stücken die Einzelthemen kaum organisch verknüpft, sondern eher aneinandergereiht. Gerade daraus bezieht die Musik aber oftmals ihre Spannung. Wie sie auf Tango und Walzer, Märsche und Hymnen, Weill und Eisler zurückgreift, wie sie mit Persiflage und Übertreibung spielt und dies mit Free Play durchsetzt, lässt an Carla Bley oder Willem Breuker denken. Deren anarchischem Witz entsprechen hier Titel wie „Auf der Elbe schwimmt ein rosa Krokodil“.
aus: Fono Forum, August 2008
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