Scalene describes a triangle having sides unequal in length, but there's nothing uneven in the back and forth from the NY trio of tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman, pianist Matthew Shipp, and new to Perelman & Shipp's many collaborations, drummer Joe Herteinstein, in a 10-part studio recording of energetic spontaneous improvisation with a strong lyrical center.
"First It was Jeff Cosgrove, then Bobby Kapp, and now it is yet another new drummer Joe Hertenstein. Says Ivo: "I'm opening up to every musician on earth. It's not that I have exhausted the musical potential with my favorite gang. But it's time to expand - and this will reflect a growth within my gang. If you socialize and talk with other people, it's good for your old friends too." With new friends like Hertenstein, no one's complaining."-Leo Records
"The Perelman/Shipp trio is completed once again by a new name, Joe Hertenstein. Where the saxophonist's most recent discs have relied upon the established pulse of Gerald Cleaver or Whit Dickey, he has expanded his universe to include drummers Andrew Cyrille on Dione (2017), Bobby Kapp Tarvos (2017) Heptagon (see below), and Jeff Cosgrove (see above). This studio date evolved from Shipp's two recordings with Hertenstein and The Core Trio released on FreeBass Productions (2014) and Evil Rabbit Records (2016).
The music is, of course, all spontaneous, and it once again is influenced by the newest member. Hertenstein is more rock than roll here, an approach not heard with his trio HNH (with Pascal Niggenkemper and Thomas Heberer). Let's say he lit the candle in the midst of these two heavyweight improvisors to earn his bones. In any case, the recording is a carbonated affair. As Perelman is quoted in the liner notes, "he plays symphonic music, he plays jazz; he plays things that don't make sense." Like Paal Nilssen-Love, Hertenstein is a proponent of the aggressive rattle and bang. He turns the opening "Part 1" inside-out, inciting Shipp's thunderous march and Perelman's upper register gymnastics. Even the quieter pieces, "Part 2" and "Part 6" are busy affairs, swarming with cymbal and clink. This new trio alliance communicated great promise for things to come."-MARK CORROTO