Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman is nothing if not prodigious. His spontaneous left leaning recordings show an inexhaustible ability to be creative and forward thinking. Here are the three latest in what is certainly a portend of more to come.
Perelman teams up with the violas of Mat Maneri and Tanya Kalmanovitc, but not as the title suggests, to explore the compositions of Villa-Lobos. What else is new? The ten pieces range from 2-7 minutes with him puffing and while the strings bow on “04” and he gasps on “06.” He moans and sighs over fractured strings on “02” and the strings mumble along during sax groans on “08.” Freedom and fragmentation.
The ten pieces for the trio with Matthew Shipp/p and Whit Dickey/dr are as loose as a goose. The rhythm team is laconic as Perelman puffs through “Waiting” and he tongues and squawks thourgh Dickey’s drums on “Wet Land.” He hits the sub-tones on “Plowed Fields” and sighs on”Her.” Shipp thumps on the piano during “Epiphany” and the title track, and his ectomorphic fingers work overtime with Dickey on “Irruption.” So flighty it might be categorized in the ornithological department.
Best of all is the return of Perelman with Shipp on another series of duets. This symbiotic team dances together on the melodious “Yellow” and sound playful as Shipp prances on “Violet and Yellow.” Perelman toys with the range of the sax on “Red” and hits some breathy subtones on “Blue and Red.” They rumble together on “White” and deliver a foamy serenade during “Blue.” The spontaneity sounds fresh here.
Leo Records