TEPIH

Gebhard Ullmann
Hemisphere & Kapitel Zwei 4
JazzHaus Musik JHM 321 CD

Edging to the frontiers of distinct improvisation are two instances of electro-acoustic collaborations, one habitual and one unexpected, and both feature an accordion. Šablona is a mélange of six tracks by Slovenians, bassist Tomaž Grom, who also adds electronics here and hurdy-gurdy player Samo Kutin, plus two Swiss sound explorers accordionist Jonas Kocher and electronics manipulator Gaudenz Badrutt. The Swiss have recorded with the likes of Hans Koch and Ilia Belorukov, while the Slovenians have done so with improvisers such as Jean-Luc Guionnet and Zlatko Kaučič

Hemisphere & Kapitel Zwei on the other hand is an entry in this sphere by woodwind player/flutist Gebhard Ullmann, usually found in acoustic settings with his own group and others such as Conference Call. Also using a sampler and electronics, Ullmann is joined by American keyboardist Liz Kosack, who has played with Anna Webber; German accordionist Silke Lange who is also involved with contemporary music ensembles; and Japanese vibraphonist Taiko Saito, who has recorded with Satoko Fujii and here adds bass drum and sound objects to her output.

By definition the more acoustic of the two discs, the Ullmann’s set moves along the sonic tightrope counteracting the distance between the mostly wind instruments and the oscillated undertow of whistles, crackles and samples. Probably live sampled bass clarinet buzzes and bass flute lowing are often heard at the same time. These timbres are played on their own or are mated with swelling accordion smears, ringing keyboard pressure or juddering wave forms.

Tracks such as “Adaptive Strömungen (4)” double down on processed ferocity as stuttering, reed flattement and flutter tonguing are doubled and tripled to ascend to whistles and squeaks thus intersecting with wolf-howl like samples and electronic tones. Others acoustic timbres cut through the nearly impenetrable voltage propelled mist with crepuscule saxophone spills and aviary peeps.

However tunes like “Area Four” and “Hemisphere Ballad (2)/Area Five” can be plainly dulcet, with the first suspending a held reed pattern over tremolo accordion stops and keyboard vibrations. Among cascading electronic echoes and twitching strident drones, Lange’s squeeze box swells and shivers clearly define power pushes on the second tune.

These movements confirm that the other players aren’t reactive, but as proactive as Ullmann. This is especially evident on “Kreise und Kegel (1)/Area Three”, the most fully fleshed out performance.  Not only does Saito preserve the bottom flow with kettle drum-like smacks, but later on slapping vibraphone reverb also make space for first floating flute trills then reed cries, as spatial refractions expose sampled variations of the original timbres. Keyboard oscillations and accordion buzzes mixed with Ullmann’s output reflect both the lyrical and the lusty sections of this session.

Šablona’s blend of cranked and plucked strings, vibrating bellows and processed electronics may lack the variable motifs available from horns and a carefully suggested program. But the framing of its six tracks is cleverly bookended with the pealing of real church bells on the introductory and final track.

Grom’s steadying bass slaps and Kocher’s pressurized accordion swells provide the acoustic resonations of the session, sometimes inching towards a groove. Meanwhile whizzes, shrills and hisses express the electronic interface as hurdy gurdy scrapes and cranks pilot the mid ground. Throughout the suspended tension that exists between each side of the equation is stretched and tested, but never broken. For instance chiming electronic vibrations are contrasted with hurdy gurdy drones and arco bass string buzzes on “Fehlerhafte Ausrichtung”, with the fissure repaired as oscillations meld into reflective tremolo accordion squeezes.

Blending intermediacy and intensity is the focus of “Copy in Progress”, the longest track. It is also the best paced since a couple of silent interludes bisect the conveyer belt-like continuation of concentrated and programmed wave forms. As resonating double bass plucks and screeching bird-like twitters from the hurdy gurdy make their presence felt, they’re challenged by door-stopper like reverb, rifle-shot-like resonations and wood-splintering-like squalls from the signal processing which tightens the percussive exposition into doubled tremolo wave forms. But again confirming the acoustic half of this creation, climax of the piece comes as positioned squeeze box bellow illuminate the finale.

This contrapuntal blending also animates the concluding “Blindes Raster”. Following the sound of outside ringing church bells, the wave form shudders provide the variance as well as the vibrations that isolate hurdy-gurdy buzzes and nearly vocalized stop/start accordion cascades. Kocher’s emphasized bellows’ crunches also signal the end with elevated pops.

Both quartets make sure their sequences never fall too far inside either side of the electro-acoustic divide, but emphasize enough of each concept to make their individual points. With distinct, professional, if sometimes unsettling programs, the ensembles express their skills and create a sonic platform on which to explore additional textures as interface evolves.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Hemisphere: 1. Hörfilm mit Bassklarinetten 2. Kreise und Kegel (1)/Area Three  3. Variationen über Das 4. Adaptive Strömungen (3) 5. Area Four 6. Hemisphere Ballad (2)/Area Five 7. Flow of Spheres (Binaural Ambient Remix) 8. Hörfilm mit Tenorsaxophonen/ Kreise und Kegel (2) 9. Adaptive Strömungen (4)

Personnel: Hemisphere: Gebhard Ullmann (flute, bass flute, bass clarinet, soprano, tenor saxophone, sampler, electronics); Liz Kosack (keyboards); Silke Lange (accordion) and Taiko Saito (vibraphone, bass drum, sound objects)

Track Listing: Šablona: 1. Več prelinjenih ponovitev 2. Copy in Progress 3. Fehlerhafte Ausrichtung 4. Unformat quit se dérobe 5. Distorted Patterns 6. Blindes Raster

Personnel: Šablona: Jonas Kocher (accordion); Samo Kutin (hurdy-gurdy); Tomaž Grom (bass, electronics) and Gaudenz Badrutt (electronics)