The latest in Ivo Perelman’s endless parade of stimulating duets pairs him with the drummer Tyshawn Sorey who is every bit as perceptive, inventive and wily as the tenor saxophonist himself. Parallel Aesthetics will doubtlessly conjure up comparisons to the original sax/drums free jazz exploit, Interstellar Space by John Coltrane and Rashied Ali. But the concept of dual improvisation with a saxophone and drums has as many differences as there are similarities.
Ivo Perelman is a tenor saxophone of boundless facility but was never accused of aping Trane, as he has long ago developed his own language, one deeply rooted in the tradition established before JC emerged, but always looking forward.
Likewise, Tyshawn Sorey is not Rashied Ali. Sorey can manipulate drum tonalities like few others can, making it into a lyrical instruments that goes alongside — not behind — Perelman’s saxophone. Moreover, he can do this without using any brute force. Everywhere his inventiveness is on display: during one moment on the first track, he’s tapping along the rim as Perelman pushes out a string of notes in a similar, rat-a-tat fashion.
Sorey, it must be noted, is also a pianist (shades of Jack DeJohnette), and he uses that piano to interact with Perelman for the second, fourth and final tracks. His lithe touch on the drums carries over to the chordal instrument, and he shows no difficulty with picking up ever-discreet changes in mood, making it appear that he and the saxophonists are of a single mind even when the diffused turns frisky and back again. Like his erstwhile partner, Sorey never abandons melody no matter how free he’s playing. On the last track of this two-disc set, Sorey wrings percussive effects from his piano, underscoring a connection between his two instruments.
True to form, Perelman follows his belief that in fruitful musical conversations, everyone leads. You can hear him leaving space for Sorey to fill, especially during the third track, and Sorey resists the temptation to completely fill up those spaces just for the sake of doing so; like his counterpart, he considers silence a tone, too.
The first track from the second disc, “One,” is a tour-de-force within a collection of tour-de-forces. Nearly eleven minutes of intensity is followed by a quieter moment that works its way back up to fervency but in a different, more introspective form. This is the cut that is most remindful of those Coltrane/Ali collaborations — “Mars” in particular — but if only for the lofty spiritual plane it manages to reach.
This encounter between Ivo Perelman and Tyshawn Sorey brought out the best of each musician in forging a perfect union of harmony and rhythm, sprung directly from thought to execution.
Parallel Aesthetics is out now, thanks to the Polish imprint Fundacja Sluchaj. Get your physical or digital copy from Bandcamp.
*** Ivo Perelman CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
*** Tyshawn CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
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