Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman has got to be the most proliferative jazz artist around, as he seems to release more albums per year than most do in a decade. Here, Perelman branches out to team with strings in trio and duo support.
Strings 1 has Perelman with Mat Manerai on viola along with violinists Mark Feldman and Jason Hwang for nine pieces. The strings slash on with high pitches for Perelman’s puffs on “ “7:15” and pop in pizzicatos for “15:44.” The bows percuss against the strings for “3:27” and scratch out a living on “9:05” with the saxist sighing and moaning throughout.
Strings 2 keeps Maneria, but includes Hank Roberts on cello and bass clarinetist Ned Rothenberg on a handful of tunes as well. With the second reedist, there is plenty of groaining harmonies for “15:24” and the tensile “3:36” with tonguing creating snaps, crackles and pops on “2:47.” The jagged string bow to Perelman’s breath on “2:37,” rustle through the bramble bushes on “5:46” and tug of war back and forth on “3:25.” Lots of intuition and free thoughts vying for attention.