feature photo: Anna Yatskevich
Jazz’s Dynamic Duo saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp have convened on a stunning forty-six albums together, mostly just them two but many other times have included one or two other participants. Armageddon Flower (June 20, 2025; TAO Forms) is one of those ‘Perelman/Shipp Plus’ encounters, which brings Mat Maneri (viola) and William Parker (bass) into the circle. This collection of musicians isn’t billed like that though, because Shipp, Maneri and Parker make up the Matthew Shipp String Trio and it’s Perelman who is ‘sittin’ in,’ so to speak.
Appearances of the Matthew Shipp String Trio is cause for joy not just because it’s a veritable piano/bass/viola supergroup, but also as it’s such an infrequent occurrence. They made only a trio of records between 1997 and 2019, the last one being Symbolic Reality at which we marveled at them “using the telepathy built-in from decades of performing together to manage the flow of the melody in complete unison.”
Now, this special group is reconvening and bringing in Perelman along for the ride. No introductions were needed however, as there is so much history among all four veteran avanteers. This lineup sans Parker even made a memorable soundtrack album together in 2013.
Perelman/Shipp tracks don’t normally run especially long, so it’s notable that Armageddon Flower comprises of only four improvisations, averaging more than fifteen minutes per piece. Given that there are now four strong musical personalities and elite improvisors, it’s sensible to allot more time to let input from each of the four sources gestate.
Since there are more moving parts, “Pillar of Light” accordingly moves slow and deliberate to start. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long for the Perelman/Maneri connection to click, as both are so adept at making their respective instruments ‘sing’ and they sing together so inherently (as demonstrated so brilliantly on their own duo album Two Men Walking). Shipp and Parker collectively stay back in a comping role until the saxophone and viola briefly back away, leaving an opening for Parker to brandish the bow and for a short time add a third voice. Shipp moves out of the supporting role and enjoins Perelman and Maneri in a lively exchange. The song eases into a dirge, with Parker offering some somber notes before the song ends softly.
“Tree of Life” springs from a Perelman/Maneri exchange and Shipp immediately knows where to go with it, extruding a shaded melody with strident chords that sets the structure for what follows both harmonically and rhythmically. When the tempo begins to race, Maneri can be heard strumming his viola to meet the moment, then revert back to the bow as the band climbs back down to make that descent with Perelman. But there are other surprises in store, as when Parker turns his bass into a percussive instrument as to double up on the hard rhythm being meted out by Shipp.
Shipp sets “Armageddon Flower” into motion with a series of chords played in a staccato cadence and once he settles into a trill, Maneri combines with him to expand the piano sound. From there, the pattern evolves and they somehow know how to achieve that together.
“Restoration” is the one that closely resembles the Perelman/Shipp dichotomy, where the bond between the two is most direct and initially, the string players are carving out their own roles around it. Perelman’s tenor sax displays that fervency that takes a back seat to nobody. But then, Maneri and Parker are suddenly left alone to converse with each other — yet another pleasant surprise — and then Perelman joins the fray to cause even more sparks fly. Shipp is the invisible hand guiding the harmonic direction of all this, and he even ends the performance with an attractive figure that could have been a song by itself.
In the end, Armageddon Flower is not so much a trio + 1 or a duet + 2 as it’s a meeting of four virtuosic improvisors with an intrinsic feel for each other. However way it’s advertised, the convening of Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Mat Maneri is a confluence of saxophone, piano, bass and viola for the ages.
Pre-order/order Armageddon Flower from Bandcamp.
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