Gebhard Ullmann

In 2015 Ullmann released his 50th CD as a leader or co-leader. As a sideman he works in the regular quartet of New York guitarist Scott DuBois, in the orchestras of Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii, the German pianist Hannes Zerbe and the Belgian pianist Bram De Looze. He was a member of projects such as The Silent Jazz Ensemble, Chris Dahlgren’s Lexicon, the Berlin-based Die Elefanten (produced by Teo Macero), Günter Lenz’s Springtime and many others.

Ullmann received the Julius Hemphill Composition Award (1999) in two categories, one of the first SWR Jazz Awards (together with Andreas Willers in 1987), The German Phonoacademy Award (1983), many awards by the city of Berlin including the first Berlin Jazz Award in 2017. The second CD of his Tá Lam project was nominated best CD of the year by the German Schallplattenkritik and many of his CDs made the best-of-the-year list in magazines and newspapers worldwide including the New York City Jazz Record and the Down Beat magazine (Final Answer 2002, The Bigband Project 2004, New Basement Research 2006, News? No News 2010, Tá Lam 11 – Mingus! 2011, Hat And Shoes 2015). The CD Transatlantic received the Choc of the French Jazz Magazine. Since 2005 Ullmann is listed in the Down Beat critics poll, lately in several categories.

In 1991 he began his project Tá Lam (up to ten woodwinds plus accordion) that toured worldwide and released 4 CDs that made it to the top-of-the-year lists in many magazines all over the world including a five star review by John Ephland in Down Beat. 1993 Soul Note founder Giovanni Bonandrini invited him to start his project Basement Research in NYC. Originally a quartet with Ellery Eskelin (later Tony Malaby), Drew Gress and Phil Haynes, later it became a quintet with Steve Swell, Julian Argüelles, John Hebert (later Pascal Niggenkemper) and Gerald Cleaver and released seven CDs.

Since 1983 he has been living in Berlin, although he lived in both Berlin and New York City from 1999 to 2011. With Willers he started the quartet Out To Lunch in 1983 (later with Enrico Rava), the project Minimal Kidds (with Niko Schäuble, Trilok Gurtu, Glen Moore) and different trios with Steve Argüelles, Marvin Smitty Smith and Phil Haynes.

At the age of six, Ullmann started to play the recorder and later classical flute. Since 1976 he studied a.o. with Herb Geller and Dave Liebman and at the University of Hamburg flute and saxophone. He also studied medicine from 1976 – 1982. During this time he worked with guitarist Andreas Willers and a trio with keyboards and vocals.

Gebhard Ullmann (born November 2, 1957) is a German jazz musician and composer.