IVO PERELMAN - Brass And Ivory Tales
Fundacja Słuchaj Records CD FSR11/2021
Ivo Perelman: Tenor saxophone on each disc; - Pianists in disc order, with recording dates, are Dave Burrell, Jan 2020; Marilyn Crispell, Mar 2014; Aruan Ortiz, Dec 2017; Aaron Parks, Mar 2020; Sylvie Courvoisier, Mar 2018; Agusti Fernandez, Jul 2017; Craig Taborn, Jun 2021; Angelica Sanchez, Jun 2021; Vijay Iyer, May 2021
Recorded at Parkwest Studios, Brooklyn, New York
Each disc in this 9-disc album is a set of tenor sax/piano duets, each disc telling a ‘Story’, each track is a ‘Chapter’. There are no other titles.
Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman writes of his early studies in music, playing a nylon-string guitar and moving on to cello, violin, viola and bass. Now he embraces the tenor saxophone, but says that “many a time to this day I still feel that I am playing the cello. And maybe I really am.” Now I find this very interesting as I have for a long time thought that the cello and tenor are almost interchangeable as they do exhibit a very similar resonance, which I feel in both the gut and the head.
Much of Perelman’s work with piano accompaniment has been with Matthew Shipp, whose scintillating artistry and the fundamental structure of the piano tend to press the saxophonist into an unexpected lyricism. Strangely, this is repeated by the playing of Dave Burrell: his single-note fingering and spacing dampens the urgency of the sax, reducing its speed. Lyricism also adheres to the work of Marilyn Crispell, who holds her own, calm approach to accompaniment behind one of Perelman’s flights into his favoured altissimo register. The piano switches into a rhythmical, atonal mode which releases the saxist from any restraint and he then leads the duo forward. Crispell is the only pianist among these nine to have previously played with Perelman.
Pianist Aruan Ortiz is known particularly for his solo album Cubanism, which brings together the notions of both Cubism and his home in Cuba. His music is entrenched by that country’s musical traditions, essentially African/Latin, but also in part referred to as anglofrancohispanoafrocubano. While, in Brazil, the invaders’ language was Portuguese, the country’s music is still heard as an Afro-European fusion, so Cuban Ortiz and Brazilian Perelman have some common influences. The sax winds and finds its path around some stabilised rhythmic outlines which tend to limit his forays into the obstruse. This would include his facility with the altissimo register, making of it a real extension of the tenor’s range.
At the other end of a similar spectrum, Catalunyan pianist and composer Agusti Fernández is not known for his reticence at the piano, but here he opens gently while Perelman follows as though bemused by the lack of pace. This cannot last and the ensuing tumult reveals the raw authority with which such titans can exploit their free improvisation. They do quieten down a bit, but that won’t stop the irrepressible Fernández from climbing into his piano to pluck and plunk, strum and thrum or tweak and yank and drum away at the soundboard or strings or dampers, all of which he does so elegantly. Then, once again, things quieten down.
Sylvie Courvoisier flips the coin to the obverse face, her playing revealing why her music has been described as ‘aesthetically beautiful as it is strange and mysterious’ (All Music Guide). She is extremely tentative, as though she’s unsure where Perelman might come from - quelle surprise! However, the duo settles down together really quickly. The maze created by the piano is resolved by the sax with no hesitations and together they present a performance of absolutely articulate and delightfully free improvisation.
Aaron Parks is amongst the youngsters on these recordings and free is just one of the styles that he adopts, following his time at the Manhattan School of Music. Systematic rhythms and abundant chords from the piano are rewarded with clipped intonations from the saxophone, as though looking for a way into the pianist’s structures. Eventually it is Parks who changes his approach, changes his style and plays very much in the Perelman manner, which much better suits the saxophone’s output.
It’s Perelman who introduces the ‘Story’ told with Craig Taborn, noted for both free jazz and contemporary classical as well as electronica. Abundant chords are once again on offer and Perelman is quite happy to stay with this lyricism for a while, waiting for the opportunity to return to the wild, the excited, and the uninhibited. This process becomes a pattern, more or less repeated through the five chapters of the story, while Taborn has a tumultuous struggle with emotions, surely fitting Perelman’s needs.
The third female pianist of Perelman’s choosing on this outing is Angelica Sanchez, who brings with her a host of experiences, from collaborations with such musicians as Tim Berne, Paul Motian, Mario Pavone, Wadada Leo Smith and Chris Speed. Her singular, percussive style takes them pretty well through to Chapter 4 when a more convoluted style emanates from both players. After a rest, this is picked up again and the duo presents an unswervingly fascinating mix of the mellow and the frantic.
The final ‘Story’ with Indian-American pianist Vijay Iyer starts off with both players in staccato mode and this develops into a form of edifice against which Ivo indulges in some truly unfamiliar, low-level muttering. This in turn transmutes into high-pitched squealing and the piano quietens things down then increases the pace, leading the sax into some elaborate exchanges.
This issue from this great improviser and saxophonist is a celebration for his sixtieth birthday anniversary this year. There is as much variance between each ‘Story’, in extent, in style and in timbre as there is between the manners of execution and this is the norm for any kind of jazz music. Your interest and ultimately your pleasure in this set may very well vary according to what level of open-mindedness you have towards free jazz, as this genre is a large part of what is on offer. I hope that you may experience as much pleasure from listening to the collection as I have – I found it accessible, emotional and expressive: an entirely beautiful work of art from start to finish.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Fundacja Słuchaj Records CD FSR11/2021
Ivo Perelman: Tenor saxophone on each disc; - Pianists in disc order, with recording dates, are Dave Burrell, Jan 2020; Marilyn Crispell, Mar 2014; Aruan Ortiz, Dec 2017; Aaron Parks, Mar 2020; Sylvie Courvoisier, Mar 2018; Agusti Fernandez, Jul 2017; Craig Taborn, Jun 2021; Angelica Sanchez, Jun 2021; Vijay Iyer, May 2021
Recorded at Parkwest Studios, Brooklyn, New York
Each disc in this 9-disc album is a set of tenor sax/piano duets, each disc telling a ‘Story’, each track is a ‘Chapter’. There are no other titles.
Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman writes of his early studies in music, playing a nylon-string guitar and moving on to cello, violin, viola and bass. Now he embraces the tenor saxophone, but says that “many a time to this day I still feel that I am playing the cello. And maybe I really am.” Now I find this very interesting as I have for a long time thought that the cello and tenor are almost interchangeable as they do exhibit a very similar resonance, which I feel in both the gut and the head.
Much of Perelman’s work with piano accompaniment has been with Matthew Shipp, whose scintillating artistry and the fundamental structure of the piano tend to press the saxophonist into an unexpected lyricism. Strangely, this is repeated by the playing of Dave Burrell: his single-note fingering and spacing dampens the urgency of the sax, reducing its speed. Lyricism also adheres to the work of Marilyn Crispell, who holds her own, calm approach to accompaniment behind one of Perelman’s flights into his favoured altissimo register. The piano switches into a rhythmical, atonal mode which releases the saxist from any restraint and he then leads the duo forward. Crispell is the only pianist among these nine to have previously played with Perelman.
Pianist Aruan Ortiz is known particularly for his solo album Cubanism, which brings together the notions of both Cubism and his home in Cuba. His music is entrenched by that country’s musical traditions, essentially African/Latin, but also in part referred to as anglofrancohispanoafrocubano. While, in Brazil, the invaders’ language was Portuguese, the country’s music is still heard as an Afro-European fusion, so Cuban Ortiz and Brazilian Perelman have some common influences. The sax winds and finds its path around some stabilised rhythmic outlines which tend to limit his forays into the obstruse. This would include his facility with the altissimo register, making of it a real extension of the tenor’s range.
At the other end of a similar spectrum, Catalunyan pianist and composer Agusti Fernández is not known for his reticence at the piano, but here he opens gently while Perelman follows as though bemused by the lack of pace. This cannot last and the ensuing tumult reveals the raw authority with which such titans can exploit their free improvisation. They do quieten down a bit, but that won’t stop the irrepressible Fernández from climbing into his piano to pluck and plunk, strum and thrum or tweak and yank and drum away at the soundboard or strings or dampers, all of which he does so elegantly. Then, once again, things quieten down.
Sylvie Courvoisier flips the coin to the obverse face, her playing revealing why her music has been described as ‘aesthetically beautiful as it is strange and mysterious’ (All Music Guide). She is extremely tentative, as though she’s unsure where Perelman might come from - quelle surprise! However, the duo settles down together really quickly. The maze created by the piano is resolved by the sax with no hesitations and together they present a performance of absolutely articulate and delightfully free improvisation.
Aaron Parks is amongst the youngsters on these recordings and free is just one of the styles that he adopts, following his time at the Manhattan School of Music. Systematic rhythms and abundant chords from the piano are rewarded with clipped intonations from the saxophone, as though looking for a way into the pianist’s structures. Eventually it is Parks who changes his approach, changes his style and plays very much in the Perelman manner, which much better suits the saxophone’s output.
It’s Perelman who introduces the ‘Story’ told with Craig Taborn, noted for both free jazz and contemporary classical as well as electronica. Abundant chords are once again on offer and Perelman is quite happy to stay with this lyricism for a while, waiting for the opportunity to return to the wild, the excited, and the uninhibited. This process becomes a pattern, more or less repeated through the five chapters of the story, while Taborn has a tumultuous struggle with emotions, surely fitting Perelman’s needs.
The third female pianist of Perelman’s choosing on this outing is Angelica Sanchez, who brings with her a host of experiences, from collaborations with such musicians as Tim Berne, Paul Motian, Mario Pavone, Wadada Leo Smith and Chris Speed. Her singular, percussive style takes them pretty well through to Chapter 4 when a more convoluted style emanates from both players. After a rest, this is picked up again and the duo presents an unswervingly fascinating mix of the mellow and the frantic.
The final ‘Story’ with Indian-American pianist Vijay Iyer starts off with both players in staccato mode and this develops into a form of edifice against which Ivo indulges in some truly unfamiliar, low-level muttering. This in turn transmutes into high-pitched squealing and the piano quietens things down then increases the pace, leading the sax into some elaborate exchanges.
This issue from this great improviser and saxophonist is a celebration for his sixtieth birthday anniversary this year. There is as much variance between each ‘Story’, in extent, in style and in timbre as there is between the manners of execution and this is the norm for any kind of jazz music. Your interest and ultimately your pleasure in this set may very well vary according to what level of open-mindedness you have towards free jazz, as this genre is a large part of what is on offer. I hope that you may experience as much pleasure from listening to the collection as I have – I found it accessible, emotional and expressive: an entirely beautiful work of art from start to finish.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
