Gulf
1994 · Tiptoe (TIP-888 817 2) · CD Album · Germany
The Intergalactic Maiden Ballet, Harald Haerter, Thomy Jordi, Eddie Harris, David Liebman
Tracklist
- Blow7:37
- Gulf6:24
- Octa6:18
- Mute8:44
- Live3:36
- Exit7:38
- 10018:14
- Blood4:35
Personnel & credits
- Klaus DickbauerAlto Saxophone, Clarinet
- Thomy JordiBass, Co-producer
- Jojo MayerDrums
- Norbert PfammatterDrums
- Tellsque C.Drums
- David LiebmanFeaturing
- Eddie HarrisFeaturing
- Harald HaerterGuitar, Producer
- Christoph StiefelKeyboards
- Walter JauslinKeyboards
- Ernst StröerPercussion
- Andy HermannPiano
- Lauren TaylorRap
- David LiebmanSoprano Saxophone
- Eddie HarrisTenor Saxophone
- Michael GassmannTrumpet
About this record
Reception
No substantive published critical reviews of "Gulf" surfaced in this search. The album exists across catalog databases (Discogs, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, MusicBrainz, Apple Music, TIDAL, Spotify) but none carried an editorial review or star rating retrievable here. AllMusic, Discogs, and All About Jazz returned HTTP 403 (bot-blocked), so any review or rating they may host could not be read and is not assumed to exist. No reviews were found from JazzTimes, Down Beat, Musica Jazz, All About Jazz / Italia, jazz'n'more, jazzthing, Concerto, or other Swiss/German/Italian jazz press. The only narrative text encountered was a biographical sketch (carried by AllMusic/Apple Music) describing the band rather than reviewing this specific record: it frames the 1994 lineup as expanded into "a solid fusion band" after the departure of John Zorn and Roland Philipp. The record is consistently categorized as jazz fusion / jazz-rock / avant-garde jazz-funk. This is the expected outcome for a small-label (Tiptoe/Enja) Swiss fusion date from 1994: real catalog presence, near-zero retrievable critical reception. Note: the Apple Music/AllMusic bio misspells the trumpeter as "Michael Grassmann"; the credited trumpeter is Michael Gassmann.
Background
"Gulf" was recorded at Powerplay Studio in Maur, near Zürich, Switzerland, on 15-18 March 1994, and issued on Tiptoe (TIP-888 817 2), a sublabel of the German label Enja Records. It is the second Intergalactic Maidenballet album, following the 1989 debut "Square Dance" (also Enja). The band was the electro-jazz / fusion combo founded in 1985 by Swiss guitarist Harald Haerter (b. 12 July 1958), a Berklee graduate who studied with John Scofield (1980-84) and whose playing is often compared to John McLaughlin and Sonny Sharrock. By 1994 the original lineup had turned over: John Zorn (alto) and Roland Philipp (tenor) were gone, with the date built around Haerter, longtime bassist Thomy Jordi, and an enlarged cast plus two marquee American guests. Eddie Harris plays tenor saxophone on track 3; Dave Liebman plays soprano saxophone on tracks 2 and 4. Michael Gassmann's credited Appearance is on trumpet (track 1, per session listings). The eight tracks are titled Blow, Gulf, Octa, Mute, Live, Exit, 1001, and Blood. The session also reportedly involved Christoph Stiefel, Walter Jauslin, Lauren Taylor and others. The Eddie Harris contribution is of historical note as a late-career European appearance (Harris died in 1996).