GÜNTER SOMMER - ASCENSEUR POUR LE 28 (NATO 329 LP)

Günter Sommer and three old friends, or the Synopsis group who were central to an important development of the German Democratic Republic scene in the 70s. Here a decade later on what I percieve to be a mostly unknown French release on the Nato label, I was extremely lucky to find a copy in 2008 on the internet.

A snippet about the group from Heffley "...Such changes lay in the group's decision to use traditional German materials (mostly Medieval and folk) and aesthetics (lyrical, melodic, from the Romantic period) as the springboard, along the lines of Ornette Coleman's melodies, into free improvisation. They did this without the Western sense of sarcasm or irony, more with respect and affection. Unlike the West Germans, for them it was a reassertion, not a denial, of local identity beyond that imposed by the Russian occupiers, and of European roots that matched the African roots unearthed by their heroes from America."

I highly recommend it.

Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, alto saxophone, clarinet and flute
Conrad Bauer, trombone
Ulrich Gumpert, piano
Günter Sommer, percussion

A1. Nelly Et Sylvain                     7:17   
A2. Daniel Und Seine Volvo             9:19   
A3. Makoko Aperçoit Monsieur Léon     4:44   
B1. Toute Pour Raoul                     9:16   
B2. Jiair Und J.E.                     8:34   
B3. Isabel Records Boxes             4:42

Recorded May 3 & 4, 1984 at Théâtre Dunois, Paris.

All music by Günter Sommer except B1 which is by the group.

NATO 329  (vinyl rip)