By Don Phipps
Freedom is a hallmark of any Ivo Perelman album – a freedom governed only
by the interaction he has with his guest artists. Case in point – his double
CD recording Parallel Aesthetics with drummer/pianist Tyshawn Sorey
– a masterpiece of transitions – fast to slow, soft to loud, rhythmic
variations and abrupt changes at a moment’s notice, the way the two
musicians listen carefully and respond to each other’s phrases and
momentum. These improvs are not for the faint of heart or ear. But in their
stream of consciousness approach, they explore the contours of sound in a
meticulous manner, not unlike a seasoned spelunker entering an eons-old
cave for the first time, the darkness pervasive but the footing secure.
Sorey enjoyed an extremely fruitful 2024. The drummer/pianist/composer won
the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for music for his composition “Adagio (For Wadada
Leo Smith).” He was also nominated for the same award in 2023 for his work
“Monochromatic Light (Afterlife),” which was inspired in part by the Rothko
Chapel (the Rothko Chapel in Houston, TX features 14 abstract expressionist
masterpieces by Mark Rothko; Rothko painted the haunting murals that adorn
the chapel walls in 1967, just three years before his untimely death by
suicide). Sorey also received several best of jazz 2024 album nods for his
trio recording The Susceptible Now (Pi Recordings) with pianist
Aaron Diehl and bassist Harish Raghavan, and his supporting drum work on
two albums – pianist Vijay Iyer’s Compassion (ECM) with bassist
Linda May Han Oh, and bassist Kim Cass’s Levs (Pi Recordings) with
pianist Matt Mitchell [check out Lee Rice Epstein’s review of Levs]
.
Like Sorey, Perelman too enjoyed a productive 2024, issuing collaborative
recordings with such jazz luminaries as trumpeter Nate Wooley, saxophonists
Ingrid Laubrock and Chad Fowler, pianists Matthew Shipp and Aruan Ortiz,
bassists Reggie Workman, Barry Guy and Mark Helias, drummers Tom Rainey,
Ramon Lopez, and Andrew Cyrille, vocalist Fay Victor, and violinist Gabby
Fluke-Mogul. All of Perelman’s work feature mind-expanding improvisation
done with a high level of precision and technique.
As is typical with any Perelman recording, the six numbers that grace this
effort cover a range of feelings and atmospheres. Sorey plays drums on
three and piano on three, which gives him an opportunity to create
phantasmagoric interplay with the excitement and heat elicited by
Perelman’s sax. Look no further than “CD 2 Two” for evidence of this. Sorey
plays inside the piano, creating odd sounds and machinations with the
strings. Sometimes he pairs this with rumbles in the lower register of the
keyboard. The effect is one of interstellar space – a kind of Ligeti-like
coloring behind Ivo’s pause and play method – like a dark dream – Alice
down the rabbit hole. And Ivo’s climb to the summit and beyond highlights
how the two interact to create strange new soundscapes.
There is also the doom and anxiety expressed on “CD1 Four,” which features
Perelman’s outbursts and runs, that, over time, transition into siren calls
above Sorey’s light dancing and pirouettes on the piano keys. Think balance
beam or tightrope, as the music stagger-steps along what feels like a
musical cliff, the rocks hundreds of feet below. Towards the end of the
piece, Sorey creates ear bending tone clusters as Perelman jumps in with
exclamations, hues, and cries.
On the pieces where he plays drums, Sorey exhibits what could be described
as a master class of drumming skills, flipping from cymbal to snare to tom
to bass drum like water storming over a rocky rapid. His fluid playing
flows beneath Perelman’s whirls, swirls, and transpositions. And listen to
the musicality of his bass drum pedal work on “CD2 One.” This same cut
highlights Perelman’s speed to the top of the sax register and then back
down – his dexterous action on the keys not unlike a high-speed racecar,
bobbing and weaving through traffic daredevil style.
Perelman and Sorey bring boundless energy to “Parallel Aesthetics.” Balls
to the walls. Thrilla from Manila. Captured perfectly by expert engineer
Jim Clouse, such high musicianship and improvisatory excellence demands an
audience. Highly recommended!