Note: performance in above video is not part of the album reviewed below.
The world’s top improvising pair convene for another album together, but this time, it’s more than just an album. Special Edition Box is a box set but like everything in the output from saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp, it’s far from conventional. Instead of this being a collection of multiple CD disc, Special Edition is a CD of fresh new studio improvisations, a Blue-Ray disc of a live performance and a booklet containing an essay on the fruitful Perelman-Shipp partnership penned by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg.
The Blu-Ray disc is entitled Live in Sao Paulo at SESC, while Schouwburg’s booklet is called Embrace of the Souls. The music CD component Procedural Language is what we’ll take a deeper dive into here.
Ivo Perelman has been described by myself in others in transcendent terms, a talent that is not just of the current times but for the ages. Schouwburg nailed it in his essay, describing his saxophone style as “the breath of old Ben (Webster) and harmonics that recall mighty Albert (Ayler), twin stars in the firmament of the free night.” Matthew Shipp’s piano is likewise accurately depicted in Embrace of the Souls, as “neither modern jazz piano, nor the piano of classical or its contemporary derivatives; it’s an organic synthesis, vibrant and daring.”
Together, these attributes combined make for a potent combination that reaches out into the void of the unknown as it stays grounded in the fundamentals taught by the visionaries of yesteryear.
Overall, Procedural Language seems perhaps a tad more subdued or contemplative than prior recorded meetings, but it’s important to bear in mind that every encounter is a unique snapshot of that moment: if the two had sat down and rolled the tape a day later, we could have well been discussing this volcanic outpouring of unbridled passion. But the passion is very much present on the recordings we actually got, only it’s conveyed a bit quieter and revealing all the subtleties that come with that approach.
Subtleties such as the microtones that Perelman delves into, adding enchantment for performances like “Track 1.” Perelman launches from an impossibly high point on “Track 7” then settles down to the saxophone’s lower regions, using his total command of range to traverse the entire swath of pitch. “Track 6” is a friskier track, and Perelman shows off his amazing ability to turn on a dime from one thought to another, entirely unrelated one.
Shipp often plays the role of instigator, getting the most out of Perelman while his highly individual piano voicings set the music apart from anyone else as much as his partner accomplishes this. He paints a fully chorded melody with “Track 2” and Perelman reacts to it in real time with deft instinct, never getting too high or too low. The chords are far more densely packed for “Track 10” and Perelman reacts accordingly, eventually reaching upwardly to a fragile crescendo. For “Track 9,” Shipp makes effective use of the silence between the chords, providing ample breathing space for Perelman.
The marvel found in every single one of these improvisations, however, come from the single-mindedness in the direction from two dauntless musicians. That signature Perelman-Shipp playful back-and-forth really comes out over the short “Track 11,” and on “Track 12” they’re even more unpredictable, listening closely to each other and conversing in a language that only these two can speak.
When you listen to any of the dozens of records — live or in the studio — that Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp have made over the years, you can understand why this communion deserves a box set kind of celebration. And Procedural Language is yet another reason to celebrate.
Procedural Language and the rest of the Special Edition Box set comes to us courtesy of SMP Records. Pick up this box set while there are still copies, from Bandcamp.
- Satoko Fujii Quartet – ‘Dog Days of Summer’ (2024) - September 19, 2024
- Jason Stein – ‘Anchors’ (2024) - September 10, 2024
- Tim Berne With Bill Frisell – ‘Live in Someplace Nice’ (1984; 2024 release) - September 6, 2024
