Born in 1972, guitarist and composer David Ullmann has recorded three albums as a leader: Hidden (2006), Falling (2011), and Corduroy (August 2014.). All About Jazz reviewed Ullmann’s debut album and made a comment about how music can give listeners a sense of being on a journey. Ullmann has performed at many festivals including the JVC Jazz Festival and Artwallah, Sono Art, and the Fringe Festival. The guitarist composes music for film. He was most recently the composer of the score for The Happy House by D.W. Young. Ullmann’s debut film project, Atsushi Fugashi’s Echoes (Little Sky Records), was well received by film festivals and critics. It won three Jury and Audience Awards at Annonay International Film Festival, France, and the High Hope Award from the Munich International Film Festival. Ullmann’s third album (the new Corduroy, Little Sky Records) is a resounding tribute to the psychogeography of his youth. The music was composed by Ullmann, who recalled the TV themes he loved as a kid in the 1970s. Ullmann is a New Yorker who has lived in New York his entire life. These melodies are more than just buoyant lyrics. They have a bittersweet nostalgia that he associates to a past Manhattan. He wanted to capture the essence of the music, not just the style. Corduroy is his explanation. He says that the feeling of something can trigger memories, much like a smell or sound. “Corduroy was huge in the 70s and touching it can take me back.” Ullmann explains that the appeal of the 70s feel. “The themes from TV shows evoked greater emotions in me than the shows themselves.” I loved the sounds of Taxi’s ‘Angela,’ and M.A.S.H’s ‘Suicide Is Painless. It was also cool to see that these TV themes were performed by studio musicians. Bob James composed the Taxi song, and it was recorded with Randy Brecker, Eric Gale and Ron Carter. The M.A.S.H. was covered by Bill Evans and Paul Desmond. Ullmann devised ingenious arrangements to bring the music of his thoughts to life on Corduroy. His coloristic guitar compliments the playing of Kirk Knuffke, Brian Drye (trombone), Mike McGinnis and Loren Stillman (alto Saxophone), Mike McGinnis and Loren Stillman (clarinets), Loren stillman (alto saxophone), Chris Dingman on vibraphone, Gary Wang on double-bass, Vinnie Sperrazza on drums). Ullmann has long admired the subtle sounds of Jim Hall as a guitarist. However, he turned to another guitar legend for ideas for arrangements. Ullmann says that he loves Bill Frisell’s larger ensemble records. He creates great textures and has the ability to make beautiful, absorbing music from simple forms. Corduroy was my choice for a small, big band sound. The music is more jazz-rock than big band, and the rock influence comes from the 70s singer/songwriter side. This octet has a richness texturally as well as harmonically that adds depth to tunes that are otherwise simple.” Ullmann’s second album Falling (Wet Cash Records) featured the guitarist leading a quintet consisting of Dingman Wang, Sperrazza, Karel Ruzicka Jr. and saxophonist KarelRuzicka. It received wide praise. Philadelphia City Paper called the album “contemplative” as well as “shimmering,” while Washington City Paper highlighted Ullmann’s and company’s ability to “float in grace.” Something Else The “forward-minded compositions” were praised by Philadelphia City Paper, while Washington City Paper praised Ullmann and company’s ability to “float with grace.” Something Else! The musicians were incredible – they captured the feeling I wanted and also contributed their own ideas. When writing the music, I was open to the idea of using the traditional structure of chord changes and melody followed by soloists improvising over those changes. Interludes and intros were created to allow soloists to improvise in different parts of the music. This was a significant improvement on my first album. The pieces had a more complex structure, but still maintained a melodic quality. Ullmann says, “It can be challenging to push yourself as composer in a Jazz context – it can be difficult to move away from the traditional approaches while still maintaining what one would expect from a piece with a jazz-influenced composition.” Falling was inspired by traditional jazz structures and forms. I wanted to add something to the conversation. Many great improvisers can make a 32-bar repetition endlessly fascinating. I decided to concentrate on shorter solo forms and experiment with the structure of the improvisation to offer something familiar but evolving to the listener. I can still remember feeling the sense of accomplishment that I felt as I rode over the George Washington Bridge to Bennett Studios, New Jersey. The four musicians did a great job interpreting the pieces. Gary and Vinnie are great together, and the music has a very interesting groove. Karel plays with such passion and each note he chooses felt so special. Chris has such an amazing sound. I had to write a lot of difficult things for him to perform, which he did beautifully. These guys were assembled for the record. We played together many times as a group. They have become close friends and often work together.” Hidden (Wet Cash Records), Ullmann’s 2005 debut album, was praised by All About Jazz. It is Ullmann’s 2005 debut as a leader. The record’s dynamism gives the listener a feeling of being on a journey, even though Ullmann was accompanied by nine musicians for the session that produced Hidden. However, the core group included Joe Ashlar (piano) and Pedro Giraurdo(bass), and Vin Scialla [drums]. Ullmann describes Hidden as “a mixtape. It’s a compilation of several different groups and instruments that I was working at the time.” I was playing a lot at the Knitting Factory in TriBeCa, which is an incredible venue with many spaces. While I played in each of them, Hidden’s music was derived from weekly Tap Bar gigs. It was a great space to experiment with styles and ideas as listeners would usually be coming down from other spaces, but still wanting to hang out and open to hearing something new. Ullmann says that the Knit’s openness to booking policies allowed for a wide range of ideas and helped to shape the music. “I was also playing in Mission: On Mars with Joe and Vin. Mission was an attempt to combine traditional Indian music with electronic beats. Vin’s ability to play jungle and drum’n’bass was something I loved, so I wanted to use those ideas in a more acoustic context. You can hear the results in songs like “Hidden” and “Lorca” on the album. Hidden also includes the tabla. This was another nod towards what we were doing in Mission. A few tracks also feature a horn section. This track was part of a second group that I had at the same time with Rene Mogensen, a Danish saxophonist. While we were students at New York University playing avant-garde classical music, we met. However, I discovered that Rene had a passion for jazz as well as some of the most beautiful and interesting music he had ever written. Hidden’s ‘Where Do You Go’ is his favorite piece. His charts had introductions and backgrounds that inspired me to create music beyond a lead sheet. He used to joke about who had the most pages for each of his pieces. Corduroy was inspired by the instrumentation of the tracks with the brass horns. I loved the idea of a small, big band. It was not until my last recording that I followed up on that.” Hidden’s “You Don’t Know What Love is” featured Ullmann, Rob Thomas, Rex Bennicasa, and Rob Thomas. Ullmann said: “I’ve always loved standards and I was working hard to learn the repertoire, but I also wanted to try new approaches with those great tunes. For this track, I tried to capture the sadness of the lyrics and create a meditative atmosphere. Rex was a long-time friend of mine and I used to play with him in another band. It was experimental rock, King Crimson, type of band. Rex is an incredible percussionist, capable of making so many sounds with the drum set. Rob is best known for his playing the violin, but he is also a great bass player. Hidden’s liner notes compare the listening experience to flipping through a photo album about New York City. Ullmann describes how city life shaped him. I was so fortunate to have had so many musical opportunities as a teenager that I didn’t realize how lucky I was. When I was just a teenager, I was able see Miles Davis and Jimmy Smith. Augie’s (now Smoke) was where I used to go and saw some incredible players develop their skills. Pat Martino was my first guitar teacher. He gave me his contact information so I could take lessons with him. When I was between 15 and 17, I visited his Philadelphia home a few times to take lessons. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life. We met our first time when we went to his practice room. He played Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and then allowed us to play his guitar. Ullmann also studied with Chico Hamilton, a drummer legend, and Garry Dial, a pianist at the New School. He was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from an array of New York City’s incredible talent before he could study with such great teachers at college. Ullmann recalls that he had the opportunity to learn sitar from Amit Chatterjee (an amazing musician who went on to become Joe Zawinul’s guitarist). Misha Massud taught me tabla. When I was growing up, there was so much to do here. My rock band played at CBGB at one a.m. every weeknight while we were in high school. We also had our parents there. It was amazing to discover so much culture and meet so many people willing to share it with me. These experiences taught me a lot about other cultures and gave me a greater appreciation for them. It also opened my eyes to the many amazing things in the world. That’s what I try to bring to my music-making no matter what the project is – openness, curiosity and a sense of possibility in collaboration and creativity.” from http://davidullmann.com
