A series of succint conversations between long-time collaborators, saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp, each of twelve parts of their improvisation connecting through a shared approach and language, an unhurried but far-reaching set of dialogs from reflective to quick-witted exchanges in discourse that only two such masterful players could maintain.
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Ivo Perelman-saxophone
Matthew Shipp-piano
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UPC: 195269003081
Label: Mahakala Music
Catalog ID: MAHA-003
Squidco Product Code: 31689
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
"The Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp train keeps rolling. This entity of two instruments, one mind continues a collaboration of making music by impulse that pushes the nearly limitless abilities of masters to the limit. Amalgam is the latest chapter in what is turning into the definitive book to one-on-one jazz improvisation, a book with no end in sight.
That's because with new each chapter written comes a clearer focus into each other's musical being, and the music that comes from that clearer focus engenders a deeper level of anticipation. On Amalgam, the anticipation is so good, these twelve totally improvisational performances are not only full of ardor but carry it out in a very efficient manner.
The subtle but striking thing about this perfectly titled album is that no piece has a moment of indecision because the two don't need to spend any time figuring out their next move. It's understood and processed, instantly. You hear it in the jousting they do in "Part 4," like two evenly matched world class fencers who know where the other is going to lunge toward next. Or the economy in Matthew Shipp's piano during "Part 3" and "Part 8," enabling Ivo Perelman's saxophone to exploit the extra space to emote using both the notes and the spaces between them.
The telepathy runs so deep at this point, they can harmonize in illusory ways: Perelman plays with Lester Young tenderness on "Part 1" and though it first it might appear they two are playing two different melodies, they in fact are playing very much together when you listen closely to it. "Part 9" is a near-synchronized ramble of notes which comes charging out the gate, constantly varying itself in two dimensions by speeding up and slowing down as it goes up and down scales. Dynamic pacing also sets the direction of "Part 6," where it appears Perelman is leading the charge at first and Shipp doing the leading by the end.
One thing that hasn't changed at all is Perelman's endless array of tactics, which ensures that each performance is distinct. His sax explorations goes virtually the entire range of the instrument on "Part 8," ending it with such a human-like mournful wail. He clips his notes short on "Part 2," going for a percussive angle that Matthew Shipp easily and completely adapts to Ivo Perelman's pointed attacks set the overall aggressive tone for "Part 7." "-S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!
Get additional information at Something Else!
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
4/13/2026
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
4/13/2026
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
1. Part 1 4:21
2. Part 2 3:52
3. Part 3 3:40
4. Part 4 2:57
5. Part 5 3:29
6. Part 6 4:41
7. Part 7 3:01
8. Part 8 5:04
9. Part 9 4:01
10. Part 10 4:56
11. Part 11 3:17
12. Part 12 3:58
Improvised Music
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Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
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