SONIC FRONTIERS PRESENTS THE ULLMAN/SWELL 4

THE ULLMAN / SWELL 4
Free Jazz Luminaries from Germany & New York City Perform at UA October 17th

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s Sonic Frontiers concert series is pleased to present the Ullman/Swell 4 featuring German multi-instrumentalist Gebhard Ullman (reeds) and NYC-based musicians Steve Swell (trombone), Barry Altschul (drums) and Hill Greene (bass) on Wednesday, October 17th in the University of Alabama School of Music’s Recital Hall. Both Ullman and Swell compose for the group, which explores the many possibilities of jazz, from the traditional to the experimental.

This high energy quartet of veteran master musicians has collectively performed with an incredibly diverse range of major jazz figures. Trombonist Steve Swell cut his teeth in the 1970s and early 1980s with mainstream jazz artists Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton before coming into his own with avant-garde composer and saxophonist Makanda Ken McIntyre, pianist Cecil Taylor, saxophonist Tim Berne, drummer Joey Baron, and many others. Legendary 69-year-old drummer Barry Altschul worked for many years with such giants as Art Pepper, Sam Rivers, Anthony Braxton, and Paul Bley. Bassist Hill Greene has also worked with the full spectrum of the jazz tradition, a statement made visible through his connection to two pianists, the influential post-bebop legend Kenny Barron and young modernist jazz star Vijay Iyer.

Of Gebhard Ullman, All Music Guide’s Steven Loewy has said, "Few improvising artists can boast the stream of creative ideas that seem to bubble from Gebhard Ullmann. He 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 never ending innovative nature: without grasping for neoteric straws, Ullmann's performances are grounded in the past but plunge forward deliberately toward modernity."

Sonic Frontiers is a cutting-edge concert series that brings further artistic diversity to the UA campus and invites creative exchange between music professionals, students, and the greater community through public performances and class visits by world-class performers of adventurous music. All Sonic Frontiers events are free and open to the public. The events are sponsored by the University of Alabama’s New College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Music and Creative Campus. For more information call 205.348.9928 or visit: http://creativecampus.ua.edu/project/sonic-frontiers

The Ullman/Swell 4 perform Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 7:30pm at the University of Alabama School of Music’s Moody Music Building Recital Hall. Admission is Free.

Video preview: "Planet Hopping..." by Steve Swell: http://youtu.be/NPhQiMzNMpA

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