Ken Ulansey Concerts
Jazz
One
of the nation’s freshest and most eclectic
jazz groups, the Ken Ulansey Group, also known as POST-HIP, has been
recording, touring and gigging in various incarnations for almost thirty years,
since
pianist and composer Heath
Allen first met sax man Ken Ulansey. Exploring their way from
Dixie through the avant-garde via the great tunes of various eras, as
well as through Heath’s originals, the unit gathered depth as it moved
through the years.
Ken Ulansey, Pew grant finalist and Pennsylvania Council for the Arts winner, has a very eclectic approach to woodwinds. Having toured with Relâche, the Ensemble for New Music, for eight years, as well as producing or playing on over a hundred recordings and film scores, he also became what the Philadelphia Inquirer called “a resonant player who can negotiate a bewildering array of styles.” Keyboardist Heath Allen is not only a swinging musician, but a fine composer of whom the Philadelphia Tribune said, “Few musicians could write such music; fewer still could play it with such discipline and unfettered joy.”
Among the current group, along with Ken and Heath, are several outstanding, renowned professional musicians. For example, Dave Cullen is one of the masters of guitar, playing in front of orchestra, jazz or rock bands. Stan Slotter on both trumpet and flute--and a thrilling player on both instruments -- has played on countless recordings and concerts in countless idioms!
Ranging further afield now, they have a strong Zydeco feel to some songs. Others conjure the blues, or a Latin groove. Underlying all are Heath’s harmonic sophistication and Ken’s ability to navigate complex emotional terrains with ease. With the near-telepathic rapport based on Ken and Heath’s long association, mixed with the grace, fire and wit of Denise, Dylan, Dave, Stan and Scott, this is truly a band not to miss.
Klezmer
Klezmer music is back in time for the new millenium! This music, difficult to resist in its soulful charm, has been sweeping the nation for the last decade, picking up fans and players in increasing numbers. The music of the pre-World Wars Eastern European Jews, it blends together the prayerful songs of the Hasids, with the dance traditions of all of the various communities with which the Jews came into contact. Romanian, Turkish, Polish, Ukranian, Balkan and more than a bit of Gypsy music all collide in a wonderful fusion, to which the contemporary Klezmer will often add a smattering of jazz, Latin, pop or Israeli music. Though interest in the music languished for decades, the old 78s gathering dust in basements around the world turned out to be a treasure trove for a new generation of hyphenated Americans exploring their cultural roots.
Free Improvisation
The idea of spontaneous composition (the free improvisation of cohesive musical pieces) is well explored by Ulansey and his talented friends. In the last decade he has found the music, the community of players, and the audience for such challenging music.
Such a project has been Ken’s ambition since he began his musical career in 1974. Consequently, he found concerts or recording situations for spontaneous composition whenever possible. Established as a jazz saxophonist since the early ’70s, he has since branched out to reach concert level in many other idioms: chiefly, contemporary classical (with eight years of touring with Relache premiering new works by, among many others, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman and Fred Ho), but also Klezmer, Raga, Samba, Baroque, Zydeco, Afro-Pop, Reggae, Irish, etc.. He has CDs available that draw on many of these genres.
The times Ken feels most excited as a player are those of spontaneous composition. There is a profound sense of ease that comes with the adventure. It is not that the musicians may now ignore all rules, but rather that they may choose which rules to explore. They may discover that a sonata-allegro form emerges in the midst of what had seemed like a playful Klezmer statement, or that a French Romantic Fantasia treatment is a natural evolution from a stark minimalist seed.
At its best, these concerts, thrilling for audience and musician alike, can be as lucid and profound, as moving and challenging, as any music for which composers set pen to paper.