Whoever already knew that the rare groove capital of the former GDR lies in Thuringia has clearly done their homework. Jena is home to Ulrich Gumpert, the still-active jazz organist who, in the late 1960s, founded the Ulrich Gumpert Quartett together with guitarist Günter Dobrowolsky, bassist Gert Lübke, and drummer Günter »Baby« Sommer.
The tracks compiled on So einfach ist das were recorded by the quartet between 1968 and 1972 for DT64, the East German youth radio station – originally intended as so-called intermission music. From today’s perspective, however, this material is clearly overqualified for such a purpose.
What the quartet delivers here is a soul- and funk-infused jazz sound from east of Booker T. & The M.G.’s – driven by Gumpert’s spirited organ playing and a rhythm section clearly operating at full voltage. At times, the groove jazz gets a psychedelic twist, such as on »Hallo Uli«, which features Gumpert’s mentor Günther Fischer on flute – playing as if his life depended on it. On the epic closing track »Gedanken«, the groove meets more free-form jazz styles and expands into deeper territory.
