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TAO 018CD
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"The seminal Matthew Shipp String Trio (Shipp: piano; Mat Maneri: viola; William Parker: bass) reconvened in late 2024 in order to commune with tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman in the studio, and Armageddon Flower is the epic result. This album is a peak gem of improvised communication in each of their extensive and astonishing bodies of work, revealing new ways of exemplifying tradition, language, physics, material, and energy. A profound work presenting such communication at a very high level indeed. Since 1996 Perelman and Shipp have recorded 46 albums together in duo and small group settings. But as Shipp is careful to point out, 'there's only one Matthew Shipp String Trio.' At the turn of the century, this Trio struck out on a path to redefine 'Third Stream' chamber jazz via two very well-received Hat Hut CDs. A quarter century later, this new work clearly builds on extensive, musically interwoven personal history. For Shipp, 'William and Mat are as close to my natural soul brothers as you can get -- and by soul I mean the soul. Ivo is another layer of that same soul.' Perelman's copious studio dates -- beginning with his self-titled Ivo (1989) -- are a continual refinement and study in process whether or not they share personnel, and countless gems reside in his vast body of work. Armageddon Flower is a singular gem in the entire body of improvised music. This work is fundamentally a group music; while there are sections of duo and trio interaction, the onus is on a four-way conversation in which parallel streams become oceans of sound, only to be distilled into isolated rivulets once again. Without a drummer but with forward motion and bounce, the music on Armageddon Flower is sublimely striking and operates in a continuous flow of both impulsion and idea. As these four musicians have spent decades together in various capacities, their language is on one level honed. What's surprising is that entirely new pathways are exploding into view. It's unquestionable that this is music of necessity, of striving, and of possibility."
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ESPDISK 5070CD
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The eighteenth duo album by Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp. "We believe it's our best effort so far," says Perelman. "Every rhythmic and melodic gesture [in 'Nine'] that tenor saxist and pianist feed each other in this remarkable duet is met with a musically and emotionally appropriate response from the other. And somehow or other, this entirely free jazz somehow coalesces and takes shape in a way that is absolutely perfect." And, "each track in this remarkable album is a highlight in itself and different from every other track. These two artists have played and recorded together so often that they do indeed almost seem to read each other's mind, and at this stage the psychic communication is so complete that it almost sounds as if we, the listeners, are eavesdropping in on a very personal and intimate conversation." --Lynn René Bayley "The music flows naturally from their fruitful exchanges, informed by mutual listening, skill and imagination. In the span of four minutes, ideas and images follow one after the other, become distinct then disappear, the players' energies converging into a single stream which one flees from as the other diverts it in a new and unforeseen direction; the passage from the known, what they have played in the past, to the unknown, instant creation. They propose forms, cadences, timbres, harmonic clusters, spirals of breath stretched to screaming heights, heartening melodies, curious ostinatos, elliptical flights, chords constantly shifting as new elements appear, by accident or by enchantment, compelled by the pair's instincts as improvisers. [...] Neither player is a soloist or accompanist; in their weightless, whirling ballads, both share the arduous, integral role of dialogist. The ego fades into the collective dimension, as the music demands." J-M Van Schouwburg (translated from French) Personnel: Ivo Perelman - tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp - piano. Recorded by Jim Clouse on June 25, 2021 at Park West Studios. Produced by Steve Holtje. Cover art by Yuko Otomo.
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