Ivo Perelman’s audacious Duologues series continues his musical communions with an accomplice who, like him, plays free jazz as a deeply ingrained skill. Duologue: Core of Existence (Squid Note Records) pairs the virtuoso tenor saxophonist with Damon Smith, who is something of a virtuoso himself on acoustic bass.
In Smith, Perelman found yet another partner who shares his sheer fearlessness and the facility to match. Damon Smith first took up electric bass following in the footsteps of Mike Watt (The Minutemen, fIREHOSE ) but eventually switched from electric bass to an acoustic one and dived headlong into free jazz. His long list of collaborators include Henry Kaiser, Peter Kowald, Peter Brötzmann, Vinny Golia, William Hooker and Roscoe Mitchell, just for starters.
Safe to say, he’s qualified to step into the arena with Perelman. Like many of Perelman’s foils, this documents their first meeting; you hear the two figuring each other out as they go along, capturing all the honesty and discovery in their presentation.
The first indication that Perelman and Smith took these improvisations where the spirit took them is the running times of each track; they are widely divergent, ranging from seventy-three seconds to seventeen minutes long. The first three parts together take a little more than four minutes long combined.
But what an eventful four-plus minutes. The two take off immediately attacking their instruments on the opening salvo, Smith plucking sliding notes from his bass and Perelman visiting the altissimo range of his saxophone. Smith squeezes out dog barks and Perelman immediately matches it for the second chapter. For the third chapter, Smith and Perelman actively engage in conversation, Smith’s bowed bass emulating the honks of a sax such that he speaks to the horn as like from another horn.
The fourth piece is where longer-form development takes place for the first time. Perelman offers up an instant melodic idea, expounds on it and Smith adorns it first playing pizzicato and then arco. Flowing so naturally, it’s astonishing to think this wasn’t mapped out.
Smith goes first on the next extended piece, the sixth one, and Perelman quickly accommodates, making the flurry of notes come out of his sax come forth with the same inflection as the plucking of strings. Conversely, Smith later uses a bow to make his bass glissando to match Perelman’s expressions. The pair pace themselves leisurely, allowing inspiration to come to them and not pressing to manufacture it.
Part Seven puts euphony in the driver’s seat, as Perelman and Smith weave around each other to harmonize very synchronously.
The final performance is the longest but it doesn’t seem overlong because the two never lack for ideas. There are fewer dalliances with the extremes this time, just a guy playing the sax straight up and another guy playing the bass straight up and still able to land on unique phrases, suffused with human feelings.
This meeting of Ivo Perelman and Damon Smith once again attests to Perelman finding accord with whoever he chooses to convene with, regardless of instrument, background or style. If they can spontaneously create, he’ll find the common ground. He found yet another perfect duet partner in Damon Smith.
Purchase Duologue: Core of Existence over at Bandcamp.
- Ivo Perelman + Damon Smith – ‘Duologue: Core of Existence’ (2026) - June 12, 2026
- Cindy Blackman Santana, “Illumination”, from ‘Coherence’ (2026): Sneak peek - June 10, 2026
- Tyshawn Sorey – ‘Members… Don’t!’ (2026) - June 8, 2026
