The long-running Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp duo has been reinforced on occasion by an extra musician or two, bringing a new perspective that changes the dynamics of this furtive partnership. In late 2011, the saxophonist Perelman and pianist Shipp welcomed their peer on drums, Gerald Cleaver, and the three made sparks fly over five stimulating, highly improvised performances titled The Foreign Legion, first issued in 2013.
We’re taking a glance back to this one particular entry in Perelman’s colossal catalog as the avant-jazz label Leo Records has embarked on a mission along with Burning Ambulance Music to re-release most of the Leo albums in the more-accessible digital format. That includes all of sixty-eight Perelman entries. Our first such retrospective focused on one of the eminent tenor saxophonist’s first Leo records Sad Life with William Parker and Rashied Ali; this time it’s Perelman some fifteen years later leading a trio of a completely different sort.
Cleaver’s provisional addition was smart choice, because he’s quite comfortable in settings that call for a great deal of anticipation and adapting to two strong musical personalities while maintaining his own identity. He shows his mastery of finding the tonalities and cadence from his kit that fits with the sad but handsome melody that flows from Shipp and Perelman for “Mute Singing, Mute Dancing.”
Perelman jousts buoyantly with Cleaver to kick off “An Angel’s Disquiet” and then effortlessly adjusts his attack when Shipp enters the picture. Together, the three navigate the unsettled seas like the veteran free jazz pilots that they are before making room for Cleaver’s drum feature that stays on beat through all the creativity. What follows is one of Perelman’s epic emotional sax runs, unbound but not lacking in melodic development.
Shipp offers up a brittle, spare strain to set up “Paul Klee” and Perelman finds sublimity in the spaces left behind. The singular purpose of these three minds is perhaps best presented on the loose and frisky “Sketch of a Wardrobe.” Shipp and Perelman play with such an attention to the percussive effects of their instruments; it opens things up more when an actual drummer joins them. Because of this, Cleaver is able to apply a lithe, nuanced rhythm to “An Abstract Door.”
Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp and Gerald Cleaver likely could have made a lot of successful records together like The Foreign Legion because they all operate on a higher plane and there’s a keen intuition among them that’s obvious. The three did convene for other recordings together around this time but with the lineup expanded to a quartet (including this one), but — as far as I know — The Foreign Legion is the only one with this trio. The special occasion indeed produced some special music.
The Foreign Legion is now easily obtainable on Bandcamp.
*** Ivo Perelman CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
- Matthew Shipp – ‘The Cosmic Piano’ (2025) - June 17, 2025
- Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp String Trio – ‘Armageddon Flower’ (2025) - June 16, 2025
- Claudio Scolari Project – ‘Bloom’ (2025) - June 12, 2025
