At International Anthem, a jazz-not-jazz label, multi-instrumentalists are hardly a rarity. But Gregory Uhlmann – who plays guitar, bass, synthesiser, recorder, piano and percussion – is something of an exception, because he deploys his abilities in all manner of contexts, from chamber jazz to synth jazz. On his solo debut, almost all the guests appear on individual tracks and come from the orbit of the Chicago label, among them saxophonist Alabaster DePlume, bassist Anna Butterss and modular synthesiser specialist Jeremiah Chiu. Even so, the album remains largely a solitary affair, since Uhlmann plays most of the instruments himself.
More than half the pieces on Extra Stars are not even three minutes long. Even if form does not determine content, it does in some sense carry over into it. Small-scale melodic structures and percussive elements generate a gently shimmering sonic flicker in which experimental and playful impulses stand side by side on equal terms. It is a kind of ambient that likes to venture into neighbouring territories, but never lingers there for too long. One might briefly think of Laraaji, David Cunningham or Steve Reich, though these are merely helpless attempts to approach this novel pan-global music.
