Ardo Dombec

Ardo Dombec were a German jazz-rock band that released a self-titled album on Pilz in 1971.

Members: Helmut Hachmann (saxophone, flute), Harald Gleu (guitar, vocals), Wolfgang Spillner (drums, vocals), Michael Ufer (bass)

Ardo Dombec assembled in Hamburg in 1970, inspired by UK brass/woodwind-rock acts like Galliard, If, Diabolus, and The Greatest Show on Earth. None of the members had any prior recording credits.

Ardo Dombec was released in 1971 on the German underground label Pilz (Wallenstein, Rufus Zuphall, Virus, Bröselmaschine, McChurch Soundroom, Witthüser & Westrupp). It features seven proper group originals, including “Spectaculum,” “A Little Bit Near the Knuckle,” “Clean-Up Sunday,” and “Supper Time.” The shortest track, “Oh, Sorry,” clocks in at six seconds. The recording was overseen at Hamburg’s Windrose-Studios by Pilz in-house producer Jürgen Schmeisser. The album cover, courtesy of Design-Gruppe 5 D, shows a catcus peeking from a bloodied ice cream cone.

Ardo Dombec was reissued in 2001 by Garden of Delights with four bonus tracks, including two (“Heavenly Rose” and “Open The Door, Open Your Mind”) that originally appeared on the 1971 multi-artist Pilz comp Heavy Christmas.

Discography:

• Ardo Dombec (1971)

Sources:

• Discogs: Ardo Dombec