By Don Phipps
Stellar spontaneous compositions are a hallmark for Ivo Perelman. And his
collaboration with drummer Tom Rainey on Duologues 1 Turning Point
is a perfect illustration. The improvs shift mood and explore feelings of
driving intensity or subtle repose. What astonishes most about Perelman is
the precision he brings to his sax playing – whether it is lightning runs,
sharp staccato tonguing, or slurs that slip and slide like an ocean-bound
eel. But more than any of this is his tone – a tone that recalls Ben
Webster – an abstract Ben Webster of course. No matter how avant garde the
note series, the tone is ever present, and like Webster’s, is full throated
and open with a special soulful throttle. This is especially noteworthy,
given Ivo’s style of passionate playing.
Like Perelman, Tom Rainey has long been a fixture on the new music scene.
His work with Tim Berne and Mark Helias is significant [check out his
drumming on Berne’s excellent Science Friction album (Screwgun
2002) or his trio work with Helias and Tony Malaby on Helias’s set of Open
Loose albums]. In 2022, Rainey worked with his wife, tenor saxophonist
Ingrid Laubrock, and guitarist Mary Halvorson on the wonderful
Combobulated.
And just this year, Rainey joined Perelman and Helias on Perelman’s
excellent Truth Seeker album.
Both Perelman and Rainey bring their A game to the studio. And what makes
this effort significant is the way the musicians play off each other, in
arcing conversations. Hear how Rainey’s colorful all over drumming –
measured and tasteful, yet at times, explosive (check out the ending of
Track 6) – offers a colorful background to Perelman’s superb sax lines –
lines that seem to stretch the saxophone register like a rope pulled taut
and then released.
Take “Track One,” which is full of shifts and turns. Like an automobile
skirting around corners, slowing suddenly, then revving back up to full
speed, the music probes, cajoles, and toward the end, explodes. Or “Track
Two,” Perelman’s bluesy wails mesh perfectly with Rainey’s loose toms,
snare, and cymbals.
Perhaps the album’s most intense tracks are “Track Six” and “Track Seven.”
On “6,” Perelman opens with a beautiful flurry atop Rainey’s action across
the trap set. Then he develops challenging sax explorations that run the
length of the saxophone keys. Rainey responds with a heated, funky,
head-nodding beat, an unusual yet precise rhythmic development, one that
incorporates all the drums and the high hat/cymbals. Check too his gentle
bass drum taps – just heavy enough to establish the rhythm without being
overbearing. As the number progresses, Rainey’s work become more
aggressive, then very free as all over drumming takes over. Perelman hits
the intensity bar as well, with waterfall runs that ultimately finish with
hard bites on the reed – taking the music to the stratosphere of high
notes.
On “Track Seven,” Rainey shows off his brush work, and Perelman slurs along
like a person might stagger down an alley after a hard night of drinking.
The piece evolves, with Perelman’s high wails -almost screeches – the
highlight, and Rainey leans in with his brushes on the toms and snare.
Listen to Rainey’s control of the bass drum beats while channeling energy
across the trap set – a crossing that includes dance taps on the cymbals,
snares, and toms, all the strokes extremely delicate and precise. Perelman’s
creative running motifs float like a butterfly and sting like a bee (my
apologies to Muhammad Ali), and as the piece ends, he hits a supreme high
note that extends outward to some unknown horizon.
Duologues 1 Turning Point is a conversation between two jazz
giants – the discussion at times playful, serious, penetrating, and full of
anxious energy. This musical discussion is open to all of us. Enjoy!