The Squid's Ear Magazine


Perelman, Ivo / Matthew Shipp / Whit Dickey / Gerald Cleaver: Enigma (Leo Records)

The inquisitive nature of saxophonist Perelman searches for denser forms of expression with pianist Matthew Shipp and two drummers - Whit Dickey and Gerald Cleaver - allowing intense rhythmic playing over which Perelman's expressive voice slurs and shines.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Ivo Perelman-tenor saxophone

Matthew Shipp-piano

Whit Dickey-drums

Gerald Cleaver-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5024792068326

Label: Leo Records
Catalog ID: LEOR683.2
Squidco Product Code: 18340

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2013
Country: UK
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded by Jim Clouse at Parkwest Studios, Brooklyn, NY in May 2013.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Even though Brazilian tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman is a renowned powerhouse amid his gusty and highly energized mode of attack, he's an expert when it comes to reconfiguring melodic content and refreshing previously stated themes on-the-fly. Nonetheless, the principal basis for his craft is ingrained within the art of improvisation as he usually works within small ensembles. Enigma finds the artist performing with longtime collaborators, pianist Matthew Shipp and drummers Whit Dickey and Gerald Cleaver. It has become discernible over the years that Perelman and his supporting team have established a synergistic line of communications.

The dual drumming attack perpetuates a poly-rhythmic presence as Shipp also performs dual roles, where he often contrasts and counterbalances Perelman's improvisational motifs, while also manning the lower registers to compensate for the lack of a bassist. Therefore, Shipp cunningly accentuates the bottom-end of the program and digs into the rhythmic element while serving as a strong foil for the saxophonist. With rippling lines, massive cadenzas, and the quartet's muscular output, they shift gears via swelling flows and harmonious integrations of variable metrics and thematic buildups.

Perelman sports a bluesy swagger on "Annunciation," and assumes a command and control presence, laced with darting notes and a calm before the storm viewpoint. Here, Shipp's block chord developments assist with sparking a rather portentous chain of events. In other segments, Perelman becomes introspective, yet on "Return To Nature," he executes alternating storylines with plaintive cries as Shipp insinuates a stepladder approach by meticulously elevating the intensity with linear progressions. They even incorporate some weighty rock grooves into the mix among other diversions, topped off by the drummers' poly-rhythmic solo spot after the bridge. Perelman responds with circular notes and basically mimics the preceding cadence. Ultimately, the band scrutinizes and fastidiously resolves the enigma as though it was a complex puzzle that only astute improvisers could unravel. Mission accomplished. "-Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"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."

-Ivo Perelman Website (http://www.ivoperelman.com/bio/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"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."

-Matthew Shipp Website (http://www.matthewshipp.com/bio.html)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Whit Dickey (born May 28, 1954, New York City) is a free jazz drummer. He has recorded albums as a bandleader, with David S. Ware, Matthew Shipp and others.

Free jazz drummer Whit Dickey first stepped into the spotlight as a leader with the release of his Transonic album from Aum Fidelity in 1998. Two years later, Wobbly Rail issued his Big Top release. Previously, he was best known for his solid work with Matthew Shipp and David S. Ware, with whom Dickey split in 1996. Early the following year, the drummer began composing the works that would be included on Transonic. Dickey penned all but two songs, "Kinesis" and "Second Skin," on the collection, and he even had a hand in those with the help of his fellow musicians on the album. The original compositions give a nod to the influence of "Criss Cross" and "Off Minor" from the legendary Thelonious Monk. Dickey recorded the album with the aid of Rob Brown on flute and alto saxophone, and Chris Lightcap on bass. In 2001, Dickey recorded half a dozen of his compositions with Mat Maneri, Shipp, and Brown under the name Nommonsemble, and put out Life Cycle through Aum Fidelity.

Whit Dickey made a name for himself as the former drummer of David S. Ware's famous quartet. Since then Dickey's musical contributions have gone well beyond his work as Ware's drummer. He is capable of tremendous power and yet has the ability for subtle gesture. Dickey is a composer as well as a drummer and his music has reached new heights in his recent small group work, with a coterie of great musicians including alto saxophonist Rob Brown. He has been performing with Matthew Shipp since 1991 and continues to play and record with Roy Campbell Jr., Mat Maneri, Chris Lightcap and many others. Since 2007 Dickey has been focussing on developing an integrative improvisational style while working with Shipp's Trio.

Daniel Carter and Dickey recorded an album pianist Eri Yamamoto in 2008.

The album Art of the Improvisor from The Matthew Shipp Trio received much critical acclaim and was listed as one of the year's best of 2011. Dickey has started a cooperative unit with Sabir Mateen & Michael Bisio, which is another example of post- Coltrane integral unity, and is call Blood Trio.

Shipp, Bisio and Dickey have also been working with Ivo Perelman in various configurations."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whit_Dickey)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Gerald Cleaver (born May 4, 1963) is an African-American jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan. Cleaver's father is drummer John Cleaver Jr., originally from Springfield, Ohio, and his mother was from Greenwood, Mississippi. Gerald had six older siblings. Cleaver joined the jazz faculty at the University of Michigan in 1995. He has performed or recorded with Joe Morris, Mat Maneri, Roscoe Mitchell, Miroslav Vitous, Michael Formanek, Tomasz Sta ko, Franck Amsallem and others.

Under the name Veil of Names, Cleaver released an album called Adjust on the Fresh Sounds New Talent label in 2001. It featured Maneri, Ben Monder, Andrew Bishop, Craig Taborn and Reid Anderson and was a Best Debut Recording Nominee by the Jazz Journalists Association. Cleaver currently leads the groups Uncle June, Black Host, Violet Hour and NiMbNl as well as working as a sideman with many different artists."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Cleaver_(musician))
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Enigma 6:15

2. Irresistible Incarnation 4:14

3. Annunciation 6:03

4. Supernatual Life 5:23

5. Return To Nature 4:09

6. Ritual 11:06

7. Gentle As A Fawn 4:24

8. A Bourgois Ideal 11:10

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Jazz/Improv
Leo Records
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Quartet Recordings
Instant Rewards

Search for other titles on the label:
Leo Records.


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