Reed-player Ullmann''s music features tonally rich ensembles that balance jazz, classical, folk and world elements.

This release compiles selections from Tá Lam's two German CDs on 99 Records - the first performed entirely by Ullmann (overdubbing himself up to 16 times on a panoply of saxophones and woodwinds) and Swiss accordionist Hans Hassler, the second by his band Tá Lam Acht (including Hassler plus six highly accomplished reed players brought together from East and West Berlin's jazz/improv/new music scenes).

Ullmann's original compositions feature tonally rich ensembles that balance jazz and contemporary classical forms with elements of folk and world musics, particularly those experienced during his tours and travels in Africa, southeast Asia, and Australia/New Zealand. It's all is woven together into new cloth - so that, for example, the hocketing in certain tunes could have been inspired by pygmy chants, Oceanic panpipes, and/or medieval organa. Ullmann's unusual arrangement of Weill's 'Mack the Knife' completes the program. The Tá Lam project began in 1990; highly structured yet spontaneous in feeling, the music remains as fresh and yet enigmatic as Claudia Ullmann's cover painting or the name itself. 'Ullmann's records are fascinating essays on various aspects of tradition and the avant-garde and how they intertwine' (Penguin Guide to Jazz, 3rd edition).

Track Listing

• Reg Alien
• D. Nee No
• Ta Lam
• Think Tank
• Heaven No. 2.4
• Seven Rests for Woodwind Ensemble
• Mack The Knife
• Oberschoeneweide
• Oergarden's What'
• Mala Dr'ole
• N.B. Eleven
• Heaven No. 2.4 (Again)
• Red Prixx (Allegretto)
• Black Cat
• Basement Research

Additional Details

Label: Songlines

Genre: Jazz

Run Time: 61 mins

Release Date: 03/01/98

UPC: 774355152027