" one of the most dynamic records in Perelman’s catalogue"

In the closely knit world of pianist Matthew Shipp, 
violist Mat Maneri, bassist William Parker and 
saxophonist Ivo Perelman—who have been playing 
together for decades—it’s always nice to hear how a 
new influence can recalibrate the ongoing collaboration. The soundtrack for the film A Violent Dose of 
Anything doesn’t feature any players new to the fold 
but nevertheless falls under a new influence. The trio 
of Perelman, Shipp and Maneri certainly has plenty of 
overlap, even if Perelman and Maneri had never 
played together before recording these pieces for the 
soundtrack to the film, made in Perelman’s native 
Brazil. The music was all improvised in the studio and 
fitted to the movie later, so while the cinematic work 
isn’t a direct influence on the music, the players are covering a lot of dramatic ground, as if they’re doing 
eight blind character sketches. Maneri and Perelman 
fall easily in line with one another (there’s an especially 
intuitive duet in “Bia”) and Shipp resists the urge to 
fall into any sort of rhythm section role, falling in and 
out of flow with the other two. The result is one of the 
most dynamic records in Perelman’s catalogue.
by Kurt Gottschalk, NYC  jazz  records

"A Violent dose of anything":Soundtrack for the feature film by Gustavo Galvao.

https://www.facebook.com/IvoPerelmanmusician
www.ivoperelman.com

Ivo Perelman-Leo Records-"A VIolent Dose of Anything"

"One" brings together the potent forces of Brazilian tenor saxophonist and prolific free jazz icon Ivo Perelman, veteran bassist-guitarist Joe Morris (a ubiquitous figure on the avant garde jazz scene, making his recorded debut on electric bass guitar here) and Hungarian hardcore drummer Balazs Pandi (Slobber Pup, Obake, Metallic Taste of Blood, Merzbow).

With no rehearsals, no charts, no sketches or musical road maps whatsoever, the three risk-taking musicians entered the studio and made a joyful noise in daring, unadulterated fashion, pulling no punches while following their instincts from start to finish.

Fueled by the hard and fast beats of Pandi, who also demonstrates his remarkably versatile skills and keen listening instincts throughout the session, One is a highly interactive studio encounter that borders on the telepathic at times.

And with Perelman’s cathartic, Albert Ayler-inspired tenor sax blowing on top and Morris’ electric bass lines bubbling underneath, sparks ensue on this turbulent project.




ONE-Freedom/ Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Balazs Pandi

 Down Beat (11/92, p.53) - 4.5 Stars - Very Good Plus - "...plunges headlong into the maelstrom of the '60s avant garde....he heads straight for the cosmos, skronking up a storm....Perelman's buzz-saw brashness is like a breath of spring..."
Option (Nov.-Dec./92, p.136) - "...Brazilian music meets American jazz on a refreshingly different plane....Tough, essential stuff..."
Musician (11/92, p.106) - "...a record that works much better at top volume, where braying is sometimes its own reward, and where pop chants like `Tom's Diner' transcend novelty value..."
Reflex (12/92, p.72) - "...Not since Gato Barbieri slipped away from his CHAPTER 1 phase has a South American saxophonist so effectively combined throaty tenor textures, rich ethnic melodies, and inventive--often wild-- improvisations..."
Recorded between May and July 1991. Personnel: Ivo Perelman (tenor saxophone); Flora Purim (vocals); Paul Bley, Don Pullen (piano); Brandon Ross (guitar); Fred Hopkins (bass); Andrew Cyrille (drums); Guilherme Franco, Manolo Badrena, Frank Colon, Mor Thiam.


Mina Do Sante-"Children of Ibeji"Enja, 1992

On Soccer Land, Perelman joins forces with Brazilian drummer-percussionist Jose Eduardo Nazario. Between them, the duo come up with an amazing array of harmonic colors, besides generating considerable rhythmic complexity. The tracks include wild improvisations by Perelman, such as the opening ''Samba de Ogum,'' and pieces based on traditional Brazilian songs. ''Tristeza do Jeca (Jeca's Sadness)'' is a plaintive ballad that Perelman opens with a long, keening solo passage before Nazario enters with a processional beat. The 11-minute ''Forro de Cabo a Rabo'' is a journey along a fiery path. Stunning! ***** 
The  Sentinel


Samba De Ogum-"Soccer Land"-Ibeji 1994

"One of the most refined and substantial free form recordings of the year.. six tracks that are musical pearls of wisdom and immense knowledge of expression"

" one of the greatest tenor saxophonists, a poet of the music..a monument of contemporary improvised music" 
musiczoom.it 

"Reverie" contains six tracks that are musical pearls of wisdom and immense knowledge of expression: based on Berger's signature piano entretien, it represents a real testbed for the Brazilian saxophonist, who must comply by damping down on his expressive impetus; we know Berger's module, based on a weak Taylor-style structure, with passages where he looks for ever different scalar chords by simulating dynamic pitch climbs, plus a few passages of suspense à la Debussy, sprinkled with many breathing spaces; but the real surprise is hearing Perelman's saxophone play (in his distinctive way) as in a ballad—a circumstance that had never occurred in his career until now. To find anything similar, one has to go back to the melodic style of his early period; but the evolution is so successful that it proves to be as persuading as his trademark expressionist attempts on the sax.
Therefore, "Reverie" develops on an unexpected, valid interaction between the two musicians, with instrumental passages that proceed almost in unison (that is, following the same emotive path), musical oasis that rest on fine technicalities, and the overall mood being infused with a state of well-being of intents, nodding to the philosophical and spiritual aspects of music. One of the most refined and substantial free form recording of the year.
Ettore Garzia, Percorsi Musicali.

"Perelman gains his current position as a saxophone giant deliberately, with care, diligence, and music gambling and showing off, but to little avail: he is the giant already"
Z K Slaby, http://www.hisvoice.cz/clanek_2137_ivo-perelman-karl-berger-reverie.html


Reverie ("Reverie"-Leo  records 2014)

" This is a classic..What Perelman accomplished here is an intervallic wonder..a killer solo saxophone record"

This is a very brief offering by saxophone great Ivo Perelman, featuring three takes of Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk" and a variation on each one. Apparently this was recorded as a way of not wasting time; Perelman was waiting for a tuba player to arrive for a session -- he was very late. Rather than let the booked time go to waste, he began playing "Blue Monk" and extrapolating upon it as a way of warming up. He had no intention of recording or releasing the work. Later, upon discovering the tape, he played it and sought to issue it after all -- and with good reason. The liner notes apologize all over themselves for the CDs brevity -- a little over 35 minutes. This is false modesty; these folks know they have a killer solo saxophone record here no matter how long or short it is. In fact, it just may be the perfect length for a solo set. What Perelman accomplished here is an intervallic wonder. He has taken Monk's melody and his notion of harmony and stretched them toward boundaries these notes had never encountered before. And, yes, he retains the same basic playful spontaneity the composer insisted upon each time he played his own work. The horn squawks and squeaks all over the place, using theme, voice modulation, various breathing techniques, and scalar invention to reach into the melodic and tonal harmonic bag of Monk for some fresh ideas. When Perelman blows the tune, all the wheels come off and only its chassis remains. When he moves into each of the three variations on the tune, in blues phrasing, free jazz blowing, and funky-bottom R&B swinging, he transforms his improvising into Monk's and vice versa. Perelman's respect for the structural integrity of the original remains intact even when he revamps the intervals and harmonic accents; he never quite leaves it behind, insisting on building from the same architecture the composer used to improvise upon in the original. So, for 35 minutes, the listener is treated to a truly original interpretation of Monk and his lyrical ideas. This is a classic by Perelman, no apology necessary.
Thom  Jurek, All Music Guide

Blue Monk 1-"Blue  Monk  Variations"-Cadence-1996

"Serendipity is a prime example of the maverick tenor saxophonist at his most impassioned..this epic album-length excursion features some of the most trenchant testimonials Perelman has set to wax." All About  Jazz

"While Ivo's  intensity is what legends dream of, his deceptively subtle nuances of quiet abandonment more than make up the for the blazing inferno that is Ivo Perelman."
 criticaljazz.com

"the greatest album of them all. Just one track, a fourty-three minute free jazz blow-fest, expansive, exuberant, relentless, a wild outburst of pure heartfelt musical energy" 
freejazzblog.org

Serendipity

"Perelman, Morris and Cleaver are at the top of their games here, and this CD continues the visionary saxophonist’s creative resurgence of the past few years as documented by Leo Records ." 2012 release
http://skremsky.tumblr.com

" I believe that Ivo's latest wave of music is just the tip of the iceberg. There is plenty more where this come from." Joe Morris

Playing  with  mercury-"Living Jelly"

“Sax extraordinaire Ivo Perelman is one of the most advanced living practitioners of the tenor saxophone.”
— somethingelsereviews.com

“An exuberant genius who is still at the peak of his creativity.”
— www.musiczoom.it

“A breakthrough, inimitable, pioneering, irrepressibly
ardent and provocatively fertile frolic saxophonist.”
— www.hisvoice.cz."   

“Excitingly tantalising, relentlessly innovative and intensely disconcerting, Ivo Perelman and his music raise the question as to who else has been consistently this good.”
— www.jazzviews.net

"Perelman is soaring on Callas  like a nightingale, more than on most of his other 55 albums." Bad Alchemy

"Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp rank among the top figures of today's uncompromising music. Perelman can be a match for Anthony Braxton as to the number of issued records.They are both sax celebrities, enriching the scale of contemporary music to a high degree."   www.hisvoice.cz

Tosca , "Callas", Leo records, 2015

"one of jazz history’s greatest duos.”examiner.com
" a significant moment in the art of the improvised duo " NYC Jazz records
"some of the most potent free jazz on the scene today" skremsky.tumblr.com
Stuart Broomer, NYC jazz records

Violetta, "Callas", Leo  records, 2015

"two of the most empathetic musical partners out there"
Downbeat  magazine, june 2016

"Corpo is one of Perelman s best CD ever: is studied, meditated in the thinking, bears the visible signs of an in-depth step in improvisation "
http://ettoregarzia.blogspot.com.br/2016/04/la-nuova-cinquina-di-ivo-perelman.html?m=1

"Each piece here is chock full of small surprises of sound that would be considered grand gestures by any other two artists."
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/five-by-five-more-love-from-ivo-perelman-by-mark-corroto.php?width=414

"among the best moments in contemporary music, their music is one of those which leaves no-one unresponsive..The two of them have gone beyond everything they accomplished together in the past years, without stopping to replicate a formula... Theirs are true sounds, which come from deep within the soul." http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=25760#.VzeNyiMrKDU

" Ivo Perelman's powerfully sensitive, introspective voice finds a special place in the music of his pianist partner Matthew Shipp..a truly organic relationship that has been very rarely heard in decades of improvisation: tenderness, passion and a dream.. Corpo is the incarnation of a phenomenon: intuitive inspiration, lyrical sensitivity combined with the logic and desire to improvise without pretense and with purity..The result is wonderful."  http://orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.be/2016/05/lauri-hyvarinen-daniel-thompson-aghe.html

"Shipp calls Corpo (by right) an apotheosis of mutual cosmos. This apotheosis is born reflectively, almost bittersweetly and in a crawing way...vehemently concentrated improvisation taking place side by side, finely varying whole, passing, non-competitivy, tuned to details of individual tones, founded on absorption of developmental tendencies of music excursions..Randomness? No way: everything is deeply felt, understandable, streamly self-propelled, non-pudibund, and stammered out into an over-buzzing latching. Perelman and Shipp thus do not make it up, everything comes their way somehow incidentally - from an apparent inattention to refined complexity." http://www.hisvoice.cz/cz/articles/detail/3042



"Corpo" part 12

"light years away from what others do.. a dense music, full of expressiveness, absolutely outside the permits of the rules in force... Inspired and free, this music finds new directions for expression"

There's a certain feeling between tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and Joe Morris on bass or electric guitar, as evidenced by their various encounters in trios or quartets. It still wasn't the duo, a direct dialogue as is the case here, with Joe Morris holding the acoustic guitar. The music of the two is the kind that leaves no room for escape; you can immerse yourself in the flow of sound, from one track to the other, or better still lose yourself completely. Because even without rhythm section, they know how to occupy the space and create a dense music, full of expressiveness, absolutely outside the permits of the rules in force.

Morris has already worked with a rhythm section, or in the Living Jelly trio with Perelman and drummer Gerald Cleaver, but here the music does not need anything - the dialogue of the two works alone because in this formation, they have something to say. Turtle Dance, in spite of the slow speed of the animal, is a song full of energy. In it the sax is ready to attack, the acoustic guitar brings out so many notes to stimulate the tenor saxophone to make a sound that knows how to impose. Inspired and free, this music finds new directions for expression. The long track Almost Blue has nothing to do with the famous Elvis Costello ballad made famous in the hands of Chet Baker.

Everything here is more rarefied by the will of the musicians, an atmosphere that speaks of night, but light years away from what others do. The sax sounds relaxed with a melancholy note, and yet free, tangential to the expectations, sometimes hoarse or ready to glimpse what he can do with the treble, while the acoustic guitar becomes a stimulating interlocutor from which emerge stretches of the blues, pulled out of shreds of memory, quoted, but with little loyalty. The cover is a painting by Perelman himself, who is not only a musician, but also an abstract expressionist painter.

http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=25892#.V0AAuORCe70

blue

"each piece a self-contained drama, from the cinematic scope of the opening ‘Metaphysical’ to Shipp’s intimate prelude which opens the title track and Perelman’s gorgeous lyric line later in the same piece, full of subtle inflections..delicate hues of his tenor.. intensely expressive saxophone "
Many paths led to this album. It can be seen as the duo of Ivo Perelman (tenor saxophone) and Matthew Shipp (piano), who recorded the majestic Corpo a week before, plus the rhythm section of Michael Bisio (double bass) and Whit Dickey (drums); or the most recent Shipp trio with Bisio and Dickey, responsible for four outstanding releases, plus Perelman; the trio of Perelman, Shipp and Bisio, who’ve made one recording, plus Dickey, as has the trio of Perelman, Shipp and Dickey, plus Bisio; or the trio of Perelman, Bisio and Dickey, which have performed but not recorded, plus Shipp; or the combined duos of Perelman and Dickey, and Shipp and Bisio, both of which have released albums. There’s also the two previous outings by this quartet: The Edge (Leo Records, 2013) and The Other Edge (Leo Records, 2014).
Such a multiplicity of relations is reflected in the album as a whole – ceaseless activity but never crowded; four musicians entirely at ease with each other and comfortable with their own space and fit, sensitive to even slight changes in energy, mood and focus. There’s a relaxed feel to the date and an assurance which allows thinking in paragraphs rather than sentences, each piece a self-contained drama, from the cinematic scope of the opening ‘Metaphysical’ to Shipp’s intimate prelude which opens the title track and Perelman’s gorgeous lyric line later in the same piece, full of subtle inflections. There’s much to enjoy: the duo of bass and sax which opens ‘Joy’, later joined by piano and drums, the shifting balances of ‘Eyound’ and the pounding dance in ‘Crossing’ which resurfaces throughout the piece, a thought that can’t be shaken off.
A word about the recording. Like all the releases reviewed this week and many of Perelman’s recent albums, Soul was recorded at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, engineered by Jim Clouse. The acoustic is intimate, revealing the full range of instrumental textures: the sparkle and luscious resonance of Shipp’s fine piano, the delicate hues of Perelman’s tenor, Bisio’s weighty registers and the clatter of Dickey’s drums and soft decay of his cymbals. Such sound aids appreciation of the organic flow of a piece like ‘Fragments’ (a popular title among improvisers) in which an assemblage of darting phrases gradually coalesce and from which Perelman’s intensely expressive saxophone emerges.
What about the album title? Perelman’s recording prior to this was Corpo (Body) – do the albums form a complimentary pair, a rendition in music of Cartesian Dualism perhaps, or joined together, an allusion to the great jazz standard famously recorded by Coleman Hawkins? Probably not: as noted by Neil Tesser in his liner notes, each album has both body and soul, and the tune doesn’t put in an appearance on either. Maybe the title, and album cover, simply reflect the deep-rooted community of purpose shared by these musicians and the fluid discourse and free flow of ideas this enables. I’d be happy with five albums of just this quartet – a reasonable enough request. ****
By Colin Green
http://www.freejazzblog.org/2016/06/ivo-perelman-matthew-shipp-michael.html?m=1

metaphysical

"Decades after Ben Webster, Don Byas, Getz, Coltrane, Ayler and Sam Rivers, Ivo Perelman returns to this enlightened inspiration, this free sincerity of all calculation that speaks the essence by constantly renewing his quest...his warm voice details the nuances of the upper registers of the instrument with a singing, uniquely passionate quality, so lyrical and so in love with life that he doesn’t seem like he’s repeating himself...although Perelman’s spontaneous process is tireless, we never tire of it"

The art of the improv trio vol 1
Ivo Perelman tenor sax ,Karl Berger piano, Gerald Cleaver  drums

http://orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.be/2016/10/mia-zabelka-ivo-perelman-art-of-improv.html

The art of the improv trio vol 1, part 1

"savage beauty..enormous expressive force of Ivo s sax and Shipp who is in a state of grace..Perelman's language is also something new in the field of improvised music: its use of high notes, mastered by him with extreme rigor, is a trademark..stupendous"

The formation with piano, sax and drums took hold in a free setting after the famous live sessions by Cecil Taylor with Jimmy Lyons and Sunny Murray in Copenhagen. Since then, others have followed with European and American musicians, not last that of Cecil Taylor with Dewey Redman and Elvin Jones. In Volume 3 of the recordings dedicated to improvisation, we find the tenor sax player Ivo Perelman together with Matthew Ship at the piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. These are nine completely improvised pieces that celebrate freedom of expression and that therefore extend into new terrain, consequently exploring the possibilities of the instruments and their interaction. Perelman's language is also something new in the field of improvised music: its use of high notes, mastered by him with extreme rigor, is a trademark.
The music of these three changes mood from one piece to the other, and in part 3 they show themselves from a more abrasive and restless side, the piano of Shipp chased by Cleaver’s drums drawing lines which are perpetually in movement while the solos of the tenor sax bring moments of savage beauty while they explore all the technical possibilities of the instrument. It is an important moment in the record because, as Shipp explains in the cover notes, even if Perelman has worked with a limited group of improvisers, he is able to change the music each time, bringing it to interactions in the studio which are totally different from one recording to the other, according to the musicians called upon and their number. Each time there is a session change, the repetition of situations which have already been explored is avoided, the dynamics change, and essentially everything changes.
Even in Part 4 we travel these routes based on the enormous expressive force of Ivo's sax and Shipp who is in a state of grace, at ease in these situations which are so different from those of the quartet in which he served, and of the famous sax player David Ware. Part 5 is stupendous, with the musicians engaged in managing the enormous amount of energy released. But it is the entire disk that is convincing because of the total empathy of the performers. It is a great recording that goes way beyond the usual routine that radio presents to us.
http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=27031#.WB1MzLX3aaN

"The art of the improv trio" vol 3, part 1

"Perelman has made major breakthroughs in the technique of the tenor saxophone, especially in the altissimo higher range notes, which he mastered like no one else...Ivo explores the possibilities of a trio unlike anyone else in this new series of recordings, surely one of the best releases of 2016."

The latest releases by Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman – six recordings for Leo Records – are performed in trio alongside two other musicians, Gerald Cleaver on drums and bassist William Parker, with whom he recorded from the very beginning, as mentioned by the musician in the sleeve notes. The arrival of Ivo in New York was a surprise for the force with which he mastered his instrument. Then the late Rashied Ali completed the trio on drums and their recording of Sad Life for the same label, Leo Records, was greeted warmly by both critics and audiences. Since then Perelman has made major breakthroughs in the technique of the tenor saxophone, especially in the altissimo higher range notes, which he mastered like no one else.
This time he went into the studio, as usual, without giving any directions on what to play, trusting him and his partners(according to William Parker, this is the strength of great musicians). What they do takes place in layers of sound, space, colour and it’s no longer just music, continues Parker, it’s the life of Ivo shared with the outside world. In the face of music it makes little sense to analyse the technical aspects of the communication.
Of the three songs, the first and third go on for about five minutes, while Part 2 lasts more than forty minutes and is a kind of suite; compact, where there is a moment out of place from the bass solo to the way the improvisation of the tenor sax runs. Cleaver, as always is a very proactive, dynamic drummer and interacts at par, making the music come alive, always keeping in perfect empathy with the other musicians that transcends the usual relationship between a soloist and the rhythmic.
Perelman flows all registers of his instrument, from the low breathy notes to the altissimo or more conversational moments, alternating between the two with the sagacity proposed by the atmosphere, and leaving a few minutes of space only for William Parker to integrate into the surroundings. Ivo Perelman explores the possibilities of a trio unlike anyone else in this new series of recordings, surely one of the be releases of 2016.
http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=26732#.V_l1Z8mXFv0

"The art of the improv trio vol 4" Part 1.

"Perelman's tenor sax is able to convey any type of emotion, from the free yell to soft notes that give a sense of indefinite sweetness"

Here we are with the fifth volume of the new series of recordings by Ivo Perelman in a trio, this time with Joe Morris on the electric guitar and again with Gerald Cleaver, the drummer. “Improvising is action,” this is what Morris wrote in the liner notes, and starting from the beginning the music, instantly improvised in the studio, confirms this statement. There is no intention of referring to a past, neither near nor far, although the three obviously know their colleague's music. “We intend to share new ideas with people who seek new listening experiences, which offer the opportunity to exist in the present and to contemplate life in new ways through music.” These are the words with which Morris tries to explain the intentions that move the musicians and the contact they intend to establish with the public which should be able to share their proposal of a search for new listening experiences.
Part 2 presents even more pensive situations, because Perelman's tenor sax is able to convey any type of emotion, from the free yell to soft notes that give a sense of indefinite sweetness, instead in Part 4 the music becomes turbulent, Morris's macerated guitar and Perelman's saxophone, who hits the high notes as only he can, works perfectly in conveying that new something which is in their stated intentions. Towards the end of the song Morris and Cleaver remain alone to express themselves intensively occupying the remaining available space. In Part 5 the music becomes pensive, at least at the beginning of the song, before the frenzied tenor saxophone imposes a new directive pace. The long Part 8 is a swirl of inventions, all hyperactive and hyperkinetic, which are looking for a compact communication and an immediate expression of their artistic talent. As always a recording that doesn't leave anyone indifferent, special for both the instrumentation and the performance conditions.

http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=26829#.WCvORhIrJBx

"The art of the improv trio vol 5" part 1

"Every time Ivo manages to surprise us, to create something new..His technique is constantly changing although the sound and the solos are immediately recognizable..This is an album for the ones who are not afraid to feel, to experience, to be violently shaken, to touch the untouchable"

In the sixth volume of the new series of Ivo Perelman’s trio recordings , the formation of the preceding volume is repeated with Joe Morris and drummer Gerald Cleaver. But this time Morris is on bass, adding an additional characteristic to the music, and also this time the recording comes from a live gig, recorded at The Manhattan Inn, Brooklyn, New York, in July of 2016. The first track is 42 minutes long and the other 4 minutes , which ends both the concert and the disc. Since his debut at Leo Records, the trio has been the preferred format in many of the Brazilian saxophonist’s recordings, over time working alongisde the likes of William Parker, Rashied Ali, Wilber Morris and Michael Wimberley, Dominic Duval, Brian Wilson and his latest collaborators Joe Morris and Hungarian drummer Balázs Pandi.
Every time Ivo manages to surprise us, to create something new, which testifies for the constant interaction between him and his collaborators. His technique is constantly changing although the sound and the solos are immediately recognizable with those evolutions in the high register creating enormous tension in the execution of the music. Along with the rhythm comes an idea of compactness or, to quote the title of a famous Don Cherry record, total communion, which makes the music as fresh and as urgent today as it was at the end of the ‘60s. Towards the end of the encore granted at the audience’s request appears, contorted, a quote from Albert Ayler’s Ghosts, a tribute well received by the audience. “This is an album for the ones who are not afraid to feel, to experience, to be violently shaken, to touch the untouchable,” writes Filipe Freitas in the liner notes. “I would like to thank Ivo, not only for all these years of boundless music, but also for having remained faithful to his own beliefs”. Words which fans of the genre can only agree with. Thanks Ivo!
http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=26995#.WBPgScmd1v0

"The art of the improv trio vol 6"Part 2

​" astonishing duo, in which they have developed a shared language that borders on telepathic communication."

The partnership of saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp stretches back to 1996 and now encompasses more than 30 recordings. Nearly a quarter of these trace the path of their astonishing duo, in which they have developed a shared language that borders on telepathic communication. Their resonance with each other allows them to perform utterly spontaneous improvisations, the progress of which – the mirrored tempo turns and mood twists, the balance of one instrument to the other in a series of perfectly aligned events – could easily be mistaken for carefully plotted structures designed to facilitate free improvisation.  
​But while the Perelman-Shipp Duo represents a pinnacle of this music, their accomplishment does not nullify other collaborations – a fact vividly illustrated by the addition of bassist William Parker on Titan, Volume 1 in the multi-disc series The Art Of Perelman-Shipp. Their shared history dates prior to 1996, when the trio heard here made its debut (on Perelman’s Cama De Terra). Perelman quickly followed that with separate duo recordings featuring Parker and Shipp. But since then – and although Perelman has recorded often with the pianist, and occasionally with the bassist – this specific trio has recorded only one other album, the 2014 album Book Of Sound.
That ought to constitute a cosmic crime, and on Titan, one track in particular – the 20-minute finale – shows why.
​From the opening chorale, led by virile but vulnerable long tones from the tenor, Parker’s contributions reveal themselves as indispensable. Within the first two minutes, he offers a primer on his gorgeous bowing, from the parallax vibrations of the topmost register to the rich, dark depths of the low notes. These passages certainly display his technique, but they primarily serve the music taking shape; this section would not exist without the bass, and more specifically, without William Parker’s thrilling voice on the instrument. As the bass and tenor slowly diverge, Shipp’s piano poetry provides a unifying framework in percussive blank verse, now supporting, now nudging his compatriots. At about six minutes into the piece, Parker’s triple-timed repetition of a single note pulls in Perelman, leading to a shift in roles; now the sax and bass provide a butterfly obbligato and the piano becomes the focal point. And then, after this section builds to a climax, Parker (at 7:30) abandons the bow with clandestine grace, as his plucked bass lines become the percussive engine. Before the track ends, you will hear swagger and mystery, power and fragility, and events of such remarkable synchronicity – including the duet sections that coalesce around the bass, and especially the closing portion (at 16:00) built upon Parker’s thumped pulse – that they elevate the concept of free improvisation, even as they appear to defy it.
 Perelman to choose Titan for the title of this recording. As he says, “I like the name and what it evokes, because William is like a titanic figure playing the bass; the man is a giant. There’s a lot about his playing. It’s not just the musicality; he’s very spiritual, he’s very deep – but he takes things very light. His presence is not threatening; he’s a poet. And his music has a very dancing aspect to it, very rhythmic, very dancing – very African. He’s as giagantic as the African continent.”

​On Titan, the results are predictably stellar.
 
 NEIL TESSER

The art of Perelman-Shipp vol 1, part 1

“Over the course of nearly 100 recordings under his own name, tenor saxophone savant Ivo Perelman had previously recorded only once in the company of another reed player -- in 2005, in a quartet that paired him with Louis Sclavis on bass clarinet. Now, in his latest exploration of sonic colors and instrumental pairings, Perelman has tripled that output with the release of two quietly spectacular albums, Kindred Spirits and Spiritual Prayers” Neil Tesser, liner notes

1.  7.21

"Perelman is one of the great saxophone virtuosi and exponents of spontaneous composition to have emerged in the past three decades" Jazzwise 

"Ivo Perelman is perhaps the greatest living musical artist of our time" @CriticalJazz

"a modern day saxophone colossus.. a true improviser.." Echoes, UK

"“one of the world's most prominent avant- garde jazzmen” Hot House

"One of the leading tenor sax players of his generation, Perelman has been described as a unique genius by no less than Gunther Schuller" Jazzwise

"..supreme..brilliant..passionate abstractionist, Ivo's playing reconcile the emotional charge with technical agility and intellectual sophistication with a rare grace" Free Jazz Alchemist

"sublimely structured, perfectly dosed music that excels in the use of dynamics, feeling for the timbre and rhythmic smoothness. Intimate, clear music portraying huge beauty, all the while being witty and able to touch your heart" Jazzflit

"the tenor saxophone you hear is miraculously unique. ..piercing, burning, meaningfully warm, lyrically expressive, dream-awakening sounds that explode with an unrivalled urgency..Extremely rare, and just perfect!! orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.com

" Daring and beautiful music...forceful, passionate, droll, incendiary, and ultimately satisfying...outstanding...an emotionally cathartic mini-masterpiece" All About Jazz

"the volcanic intensity of Ivo's playing hooked to his impassioned ‘spontaneous composing’ style, singles him out as one of today’s most ferociously creative saxophonists." Jazzwise

"Perelman is following in the footsteps of the great masters of the tenor sax..The lively and winding interweaving of the sax within the musical foundation constructed by pianist Matt Shipp produces fascinating results" Culture Jazz.

".. transcendent beauty.. quite remarkable..Perelman’s wide tenor sound with its slight vibrato contrasts beautifully with the acerbic, mordant response of the strings..all too rare in music of this kind.. a rather touching lyrical quality to it.." Jazzwise

"sensitive, flavourful and intelligent tenor sax with a unique sound..Perelman is unequaled or perhaps only equal to David Ware, a young Archie Shepp, Evan Parker and just a few others" Orynx

"An artist of real stature..a lyricism that is largely achieved by the considerable sensuality of Perelman’s approach..the performance is mercurial with the constant shifts in texture and pulse quite gripping..his tone, possessed of a steam heat solidity, and phrasing, bears marks of distinction." Jazzwise

"Perelman goes far deeper than any saxophonist to come before him. Ivo can see past the music with a zen like approach of focus, intensity and the appreciation of the stunning grandeur of silence when appropriate. Ivo Perelman has done but what a mere handful of jazz musicians have done. Some musicians are said to be "technically proficient" while others are "artistically gifted." Ivo Perelman is the best of both worlds." @CriticalJazz

"Perelman is one of the nowdays rarely encountered all-round geniuses..Ivo is also considered an internationally renowned painter, whose works adorn museums in New York and Amsterdam" Jazzpodium

"Perelman’s startling if unorthodox virtuosity..mastery with which the post-freedom saxist interwove his remarkably lyrical wails..uncanny command of the instrument’s upper-register 
squawk tones”.." Best in jazz 2012, Examiner.com

"emotional power and technical prowess in equal measure.Ivo is is as indebted to the un-categorisable invention of his compatriot Hermeto Pascoal as he is to the spiritual invocations of Albert Ayler... an episodic richness that marks him out as a soloist who wants to unwind a narrative thread in the most unexpected way" Jazzwise

"Perelman is a master craftsman at deconstructing his own creative force with a special twist..Ivo continues to inspire with work unmatched by his contemporaries.. an artist with the rare gift to transcend.. this is the genius of Ivo Perelman"@CriticallJazz

"complete virtuosity…Perelman can freely articulate any musical thought he hears..like an unstoppable force of nature..he's expressing microtonal melodies that are like condensed forms of the flurries of notes he lets fly in the tenor's middle register" Culture Catch

"Perelman extended the avant-garde innovations of the 1960s into the 21st century, creating a roadmap for todays new 'new thing.'"All About Jazz

" it’s people like John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and now Ivo Perelman..not only expanding boundaries but creating his own..Ivo has tackled just about every jazz inch capable of being heard by the human ear..mesmerizing" Goldmine

""Perelman is one of the most innovative musical artists in present times.. an examination of truth and intensity in music" Jazzpodium

"Ivo Perelman is an impressive musician. He is skilled technically and expressive musically. Besides, his creativity has no limits..He is incarnated measureless creativity." www.soundofmusic.nu

"Perelman plays like a man possessed, with a broad and attractively wobbly sound..a tour de force of instant composition..luminous and vigorous improvisations..serious listeners will want to tune in to Perelman and Shipp’s unique soundworld." Stuart Kremsky, Mr. Stu's Record Room

"the deep connection between Perelman and Shipp, both masters of improvisation, is a real clairvoyance..their empathy is amazing”AAJ

"Ivo's virtuosity and individual sound tremendously lyrical has created a world within the Avant-garde that is all his own, unlike of anybody else." Gary Giddins, author, critic - The New York Times, Village Voice, The Sun

"One of today's most prolific and adventurous tenor saxophonists. A master of extended techniques with a robust tone, his supple embouchure and intrepid virtuosity facilitates a wide range of expression - from altissimo glissandi and flutter-tongued chromatics to percussive slap-tongue and staccato split-tones - all seamlessly integrated into tortuous motifs....majestic ...sensitive romanticism ...hearty, abstract lyricism ...epic, stream of consciousness cadences" All About Jazz

"The epitome of the searching artist. A conceptual instrumental visionary pushing the envelope of the creative idea. Perelman is an incredibly lyrical player that can touch an individuals soul while setting their hair on fire at the same time. He plays on and from a different artistic plane than most, a perfect marriage of the visceral and cerebral ,the extension and ease of transition as performed by Perelman is unparalleled. Think Albert Ayler on steroids." @CriticalJazz

"Perelman is a master of linear development and control with a Romantic streak as wide as Ben Webster’s vibrato". Ed Hazell , Point of Departure.org

"Perelman's music happens to be quite courteous, elegant and artistic, the sound of his saxophone can be charmingly beautiful and romantic, sometimes too beautiful as for an expressionist..pure music that is quite rare to see nowadays.." Music and Time

"Ivo is a heavyweight champ who, at
times, moves mountains via his colossal sound 
and brusque attack. However, Perelman can also wind it down a few notches when delving into chamber jazz formats or exploring modern mainstream and bop. 
Indeed, he's a multitasking machine." - All About Jazz

" Perelman’s sax proves the man’s willingness to reach for the uppermost pinnacles of lyricism..He travels across various stages of shamanic liberation from the body, pushing his vision at the borders between coherent stoicism and consuming catharsis" Touching Extremes

"Perelman's broad, sweeping tenor seduces the listener with his patented mixture of strongly etched melodic lines mixed with well-placed cries and screams…he's clearly his own player" Cadence

"Perelman has the powerful voice, strength and melodic development that only great artists own..he has reached considerable artistic maturity with an impressive variety of techniques on the tenor sax" All About Jazz.

"Perelman is a master at improvising on melodic themes and at using this technique to deconstruct then rebuild statements already made.He is a decidedly idiosyncratic tenor player with a forcefully dramatic performing style. He has often been favourably compared with David Murray and Albert Ayler and as with those and othertop-flight musicians he is usually at his best when playing with artists of the same rank" . Jazz Views

“Perelman may well be one of the fiercest tenor players you will ever hear and the most unique" Digital Jazz news

"Perelman belongs to a lineage of aesthetically ambitious humanists like Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane and Henry Threadgill." James C.Hall, author, New College Director, University of Alabama

"Perelman is a jazz/world treasure, always surprising, creative.....stupendous even…a wonderful sound journey....well worth the trip"
Mike Pettengell.. kkfi.org

"Perelman 's solos are grounded in the rich soil and rare earths of saxophone history, but they can also prove shockingly mercurial; they traverse that history in swift flights from zephryrous melody to supersonic yawps. He plays with an abandon – a fury, even – that can belie his natural inclination (to find order within the seeming chaos of free improvisation)".
Neil Tesser, award-winning jazz journalist

"a free jazz feast which epic eloquence will blow away any mind that’ll dare to listen..striking similitudes to the gloriously generosity of output of Perelman' s great predecessor, John Coltrane" David Cristol, Jazzman

"another masterpiece…creativity always an inexhaustible constant ..Perelman confirms that the message of freedom in jazz of the `60s has not been in vain" Vittorio Lo Conte, www.musiczoom.it

"Ivo Perelman makes the saxophone live and breathe. He has complete control over his instrument..He is the saxophone..he touches the reed with all the strokes of the world's greatest artists in wordless communication and poetry..intensely talented, creative he is a wordless poet, and without limits..A sweet middle register, beautiful spontaneous melodies, pleading high notes, somber low notes.His control of pitch is vocalized internally so completely, that he is not limited by the traditional 12 tones of the chromatic scale..it is his contribution to moving us just a bit further ahead as a civilization" Ken Radnofsky (Professor of Saxophone at New England and Boston Conservatories, Boston University and Longy School of Bard College). 

"To say Perelman is a strong player is an understatement. His tone is huge (and beautiful). His ideas are huge and multi-faceted." Cadence

"One might fear that tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman may begin to repeat himself. To put it succinctly – not a chance.” All About Jazz

"...an entire new school of jazz..., unique genius..." Gunther Schuller, composer, conductor, jazz historian 

"One of the most distinctive and imposing tenor sax voices to come along in years." DownBeat 

"...a sound as passionately effusive as Ivo Perelman's is at once original, uncommon, and undeniable." AAJ 

"Ivo Perelman is undoubtedly one of the great modern tenor players, a leather-lunged monster with an expressive rasp, who can rage and spit in violence, yet still leave you feeling heartbroken." The Wire

"As an innovator in extended techniques, Perelman has few peers.Make all the comparisons you want: saxophonist Ivo Perelman has his own distinctive sound." All About Jazz

"One of the greatest colorists of the tenor sax." Ed Hazell, Boston Globe 

"Perelman just keeps on pumping out recordings bound to stand the test of time." All Music Guide

"...like the best free jazz tenors, Perelman's playing is shot through with a tenderness that stays just the right side of sentimentality." BBC (British Broadcast Company)

"The most important and distinctive tenor sax voices in recent years." Theiceberg.com

"Perelman is a monster with a tenor in hand, and I often feel that his music points out new directions in freejazz. His music is really complex, and he plays with a seemingly endless stream of ideas." Fire and Flux

"...the most intense, disturbing, tormenting sax player alive." Françoise Couture, Delire Actual

"Not since Coltrane duos with Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali have I experienced a sax/drums assault as powerful as Perelman's Soccerland." Los Angeles Weekly

"...fires with intensities rivaling those of John Coltrane." Chuck Berg, Lawrence Journal

"Perelman has a tenor tone worthy of Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins- one that is virtually unrivaled today in its purity and beauty." Cadence

"... innovative genius...a new approach to jazz. " Ejazz news

"...Perelman is reassessing the power of genius." Touching Extremes

"One of the most impressive tenor players of his generation." Musings

"One of the most innovative approaches to emerge during the current decade." Avant

"One of the pre-eminent tenor sax-players of our time." Option

"One of the most vital voices in the rejuvenation of free-jazz." The Ottawa Citizen

"One of the world's most remarkable jazz musicians." Buffalo News

"One of the most interesting of the new one-world breed of jazzman." The Herald

"One of the most arresting tones heard on tenor sax." Bob Rusch, Cadence

"...the most innovative saxophonist to emerge in the last 15 years." CD Review

"Among the most risk-taking jazzmen of the 1990s." All Music Guide

"Tenor sax player of immense power and grace." Oprobium, New Zealand

"On tenor Perelman is a dominant voice possessed of a big sound that is capable of great flexibility and expressiveness." Cadence

"Incendiary." CMJ

"The world-class saxophonists to come from Brazil can be ticked off on one hand. Ivo Perelman is one of that rare breed." Jazz Times

"Perelman produces music of absolutely mesmerizing grandeur." Cadence 

"Jazz didn't get anymore scorching in the Nineties than Perelman's Seeds, Vision & Counterpoint." AMG

"To say that nothing new is happening in jazz is to be ignorant of Ivo Perelman." The Philadelphia Tribune

"Reinventing the spirit of Brazil's music." The Boston Phoenix 

"After two decades of musical stultification, Perelman's buzz saw brashness is a breath of spring."DownBeat 

"Revolutionary!" The Toronto Star

"...nothing less than miraculous... no one in the USA is playing and composing jazz with as much cross-cultural imagination as Mr. Perelman... a vital contribution to jazz history..."Norman Weinstein, ASCAP Award Critic

"Words cannot begin to convey the immediacy of Perelman. Listen!" Lawrence Journal 

"Thank God for albums like this one." (Children of Ibeji) Straight No Chaser "

...album like these (Man of The Forest and Soccerland) are desperately needed today." CD Review 

"Just when you thought that fire had died of contemporary jazz." Utne Reader

"Perelman is one of the few who reminds listeners that one of the most crucial elements in Albert Ayler's influential '60s work was a sense of almost unbridled fun." Aaron Cohen, Down Beat
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

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