The first of three duet volumes between New York players Ivo Perelman on saxophone and pianist Matthew Shipp, intelligent, attuned, and captivating dialog between two close collaborators.
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Ivo Perelman-saxophone
Matthew Shipp-piano
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UPC: 5024792066520
Label: Leo Records
Catalog ID: LEOR665.2
Squidco Product Code: 17738
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2013
Country: UK
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded by Jim Clouse at Parkwest Studios, Brooklyn, NY in September 2012.
"[...] The Art Of The Duet, Volume One, as this encounter is titled, brought me back to a duet record Shipp did with Darius Jones called Cosmic Lieder, one that where the deeper I dug into to it, the more I appreciated the musical genius of both and their ability to create on the spot as each was processing what the other just played. The one-on-one setting meant that neither was leading nor accompanying, but co-creating, which in that way presents a unique set of challenges. They passed the test with flying colors, so it was going to be interesting to hear how Shipp adjusts to doing the same with Perelman.
Shipp was a superb listener and showed impeccable instincts when inventing on the spot with Jones, and so he does for Perelman. The Art Of The Duet, Volume One is thirteen pieces selected out of forty performed with zero forethought running at bite sized lengths. Reduced down to one or two ideas at a time, these vignettes are easy to digest. Visceral not ethereal, they're no bad notes, even when accounting for the maxim that there are no such things as bad notes in out-jazz.
Perelman can alternately sound sweet and harsh but is entirely himself in both instances. Shipp is a logical extension of Monk going further into the avant garde (echoes of Thelonius can be most clearly heard on "Duet #09″), a refreshing alternative to the legions of free jazz pianists aping Cecil Taylor. Together, you have two guys who are very responsive to each other; thoughts and ideas never sound forced as they patiently let them come by naturally, and ending each performance before they begin to lose their freshness.
Typically these improvised pieces find footing when Shipp sets the table, Perelman dishes out the courses and both adjust around each other accordingly. "Duet #01," for example, finds Shipp setting the rhythmic pattern in a staccato manner, as Perelman expresses himself mostly in legato, but eventually comes around and fills in the gaps between the notes left behind by Shipp who becomes more strident to match the saxophonist's energy. "Duet #04″ is another example of the close meshing between them: Shipp sets a slow pace but Perelman ratchets it up with chirpy, high flutters. Soon, both are scurrying through notes together and when Perlman chops up his notes, Shipp quickly responds in kind.
One of Perelman's trademarks is his reaching at both the extreme ends of his horn, and that wide range is explored on "Duet #02," "Duet #05″ and "Duet" #12." Other times, he plays with a heavy dose of sentiment which is noticeable on improvisations such as "Duet" #03″ and "Duet #07." Though the songs take on a very fluid, nearly shapeless form, the two will occasionally stumble into definable figures, such as the ones that constitute "Duet #11."
Ending with a thoughtfully constructed Shipp solo piano piece, The Art Of The Duet, Volume One is an album with a title that should only be applied to a get-together of those capable of applying art at the highest level. You would expect no less than that from artists the caliber of Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp, and those expectations are easily met."-S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews
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Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Ivo Perelman "Born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, Perelman was a classical guitar prodigy who tried his hand at many other instruments - including cello, clarinet, and trombone - before gravitating to the tenor saxophone. His initial heroes were the cool jazz saxophonists Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. But although these artists' romantic bent still shapes Perelman's voluptuous improvisations, it would be hard to find their direct influence in the fiery, galvanic, iconoclastic solos that have become his trademark. Moving to Boston in 1981, to attend Berklee College of Music, Perelman continued to focus on mainstream masters of the tenor sax, to the exclusion of such pioneering avant-gardists as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and John Coltrane (all of whom would later be cited as precedents for Perelman's own work). He left Berklee after a year or so and moved to Los Angeles, where he studied with vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake, at whose monthly jam sessions Perelman discovered his penchant for post-structure improvisation: "I would go berserk, just playing my own thing," he has stated. Emboldened by this approach, Perelman began to research the free-jazz saxists who had come before him. In the early 90s he moved to New York, a far more inviting environment for free-jazz experimentation, where he lives to this day. His discography comprises more than 50 recordings, with a dozen of them appearing since 2010, when he entered a remarkable period of artistic growth - and "intense creative frenzy," in his words. Many of these trace his rewarding long-term relationships with such other new-jazz visionaries as pianist Matthew Shipp, bassists William Parker, guitarist Joe Morris, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Critics have lauded Perelman's no-holds-barred saxophone style, calling him "one of the great colorists of the tenor sax" (Ed Hazell in the Boston Globe); "tremendously lyrical" (Gary Giddins); and "a leather-lunged monster with an expressive rasp, who can rage and spit in violence, yet still leave you feeling heartbroken" (The Wire). Since 2011, he has undertaken an immersive study in the natural trumpet, an instrument popular in the 17th century, before the invention of the valve system used in modern brass instruments; his goal is to achieve even greater control of the tenor saxophone's altissimo range (of which he is already the world's most accomplished practitioner). Perelman is also a prolific and noted visual artist, whose paintings and sketches have been displayed in numerous exhibitions while earning a place in collections around the world." ^ Hide Bio for Ivo Perelman • Show Bio for Matthew Shipp "Matthew Shipp was born December 7, 1960 in Wilmington, Delaware. He started piano at 5 years old with the regular piano lessons most kids have experienced. He fell in love with jazz at 12 years old. After moving to New York in 1984 he quickly became one of the leading lights in the New York jazz scene. He was a sideman in the David S. Ware quartet and also for Roscoe Mitchell's Note Factory before making the decision to concentrate on his own music. Mr Shipp has reached the holy grail of jazz in that he possesses a unique style on his instrument that is all of his own- and he's one of the few in jazz that can say so. Mr. Shipp has recorded a lot of albums with many labels but his 2 most enduring relationships have been with two labels. In the 1990s he recorded a number of chamber jazz cds with Hatology, a group of cds that charted a new course for jazz that, to this day, the jazz world has not realized. In the 2000s Mr Shipp has been curator and director of the label Thirsty Ear's "Blue Series" and has also recorded for them. In this collection of recordings he has generated a whole body of work that is visionary, far reaching and many faceted." ^ Hide Bio for Matthew Shipp
3/27/2024
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3/27/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
1. Duet #01 2:56
2. Duet #02 4:17
3. Duet #03 3:34
4. Duet #04 4:50
5. Duet #05 1:55
6. Duet #06 4:40
7. Duet #07 4:44
8. Duet #08 4:17
9. Duet #09 5:19
10. Duet #10 2:20
11. Duet #11 4:18
12. Duet #12 5:27
13. Duet #13 2:03
Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Duo Recordings
Leo Records
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