Ivo Perelman is singular in a lot of ways, but one aspect of his uniqueness that I think gets overlooked is his unmatched ability to communicate through his saxophone with stringed instruments; he can instinctually ‘speak’ to them as if he is a fellow string player. That aptitude didn’t come by chance: Perelman is a string player, having studied classical, nylon string guitar and cello as a youth, before settling into the saxophone.
Deep Resonance is yet another occasion for string-minded saxophonist to mingle with string players of the highest order, but this time he has a special treat in store: Perelman meets the Arcado String Trio, who reunited just for this project after being dormant for a quarter century. Mark Feldman (violin), William H. “Hank” Roberts (cello) and Mark Dresser (bass) are three of the finest in their respective instruments but when the pooled together their collective talents, they created something greater than the sum of their parts. Only in existence during the late 80s-early 90s, the Arcado String Trio made a handful of well-regarded records that seemed to draw from the Kronos Quartet and definitely Billy Bang’s own String Trio of New York, playing a sort of chamber jazz that played music from a diverse array of sources, as well as their own originals.
Feldman, Roberts and Dresser have had such fruitful careers on their own, it’s easy to forget about their time together as the Arcado String Trio, but luckily, Perelman hasn’t. He not only succeeded in getting them together, but getting them together within his free-flowing world of spontaneous composition. It’s an environment in which they all flourish.
On “Resonance 1,” through “Resonance 4” you hear the euphony between saxophone, violin, cello and bass that is on a different plane than group improvisations between Perelman and piano, drums and/or other horns. Yes, Perelman has made plenty of recordings involving string players, and even made a succession of sax/strings albums that sometimes involved Feldman. But unlike that ‘Strings’ series from 2018-19, Perelman is cast against ‘proper’ array of low end string timbres (bass) on up to the upper end (violin) and the effect is one that makes it sound as of a symphony. This might be an odd comparison since symphonies play intricately charted music and these guys are making up the music as they go along. But the flow and development of the music from one movement to another is very much the same.
Most significantly, everyone is active but no one ever attempts to step out in front of the others; this is true democracy ruled by impulses graciously carried out for the most part, though they occasionally create some tension (the latter part of “Resonance 2” comes to mind). Roberts leads off “Resonance 4” a plucking and strumming party among the trio and Perelman reacts to the clipped notes by correspondingly playing staccato, then goes legato for the moments when the bows are out. Since there are three players he responds to in real time, it’s pretty astonishing how he is able to pick up — much less — respond to everything that goes on around him.
For the Arcado String Trio to reconvene at all is a delight. To reconvene within such a challenging setting and revealing another, stimulating side of this group with Perelman’s encouragement makes this a significant addition to both Arcado String Trio’s limited catalog and Ivo Perelman’s massive one.
Deep Resonance will go on sale August 15, 2020 from FSR Records.
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