Subject : New CD, GUNTER HAMPEL SEXTET in NYC

CADENCE MAGAZIN Vol 26 No 7 Juli 2000

GUNTER HAMPEL

THE 8 TH OF SEPT. 1999

BIRTH CD 049

Who’s controlling Whom ?/ How late is it in your life ?/Preface/ Forward to

the past/ Preface II/ Catering/ Preface to truth/ Truth/ Truth II

All compositions by Gunter Hampel 7o:38

Hampel,vib; Nils Wogram tb, Christian Weidner as; Clemens Orth p; Larry

Roland b; Sadiq dm 9/4 & 8/ 1999 NYC

Considering his place in the pantheon of free jazz progenitors,Hampel’s

celebrity is fairly understated. Birth Records has been working toward

changing this trend, releasing nearly a dozen of his recordings over the last

few years.

This CD is the latest and finds the venerable vibraphonist fronting a

sextet of European and American improvisers. The majority of pieces are

postbop-flavored blowing vehicles with angular edges that allow the players

plenty of room to move around.

Often Hampel hangs back in the mix, soloing economically and allowing his

collegues a generous amount of time in the spotlight.

When he does solo the results are almost always memorable. His glowing

improvisation on “ How late is it in your life ?” is such an instance and

is brimming with bright swirling sustains. Orth’s sporadic turns on electric

piano add a complementary luminosity to the groups sound. Wogram’s tailgate

trombone is another clever coloring device and he makes enthusiastic use of

plunger, particularly on the opening “Who’s controlling whom”.

Several successful duets are also included, the first between Hampel and

Wogram and the second between the leader and Weidner.

Appended to the disc and adding nearly twenty minutes to its running time

is “Truth II ”, a live performance by the group recorded between studio

sessions at the Knitting Factory. The fidelity is more brittle than on the

studio tracks, but the group uses the absence of time constraints in the live

setting to their advantage, especially Wogram who pulls out the stops with a

raucous solo saturated in brassy bravura.

With this latest offering Hampel proves once again that he is a long

stretch from retiring and still resides in the top ranks both as a musician

and as a bandleader.

for the BIRTH RECORDS CATALOG check www.gunterhampelmusic.de

each CD with the MUSIC OF GUNTER HAMPEL , incl. mailing is :

DM 29,9o in Germany

DM 37,9o in Europe and the rest of the world

Airmail : DM 29,9o + DM 16

prepaid only.

send check, issued in DM(Deutschmark) to

BIRTH RECORDS

P.Reis Str. 10

D-37o75 GOETTINGEN, Germany

currently, G.Hampel is on tour in Europe: Wien,Zurich,Berlin,Koeln etc.

October 25 th , 10 PM in New York City at the Knitting Factory.