Ivo Perelman: The Art Of The Improv Trio, Volume 1

The astonishingly prolific Ivo Perelman, finding that the trio format was the best way to realize his style of free improvisation, convened a series of disparate bands over a year or so, utilizing a rotating cast of his recent collaborators. The six volumes of The Art Of The Improv Trio are a worthy achievement on its own terms, and even more impressive when you add in all the other sessions he’s led in the same time frame. I admit to being way behind on writing about these discs, but as John Keats reminded us, "a thing of beauty is a joy forever," so bear with me as I try and catch up.
The series kicks off with Volume 1, bringing together Ivo Perelman on tenor with Karl Berger on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. (The versatile Cleaver appears on all the titles in the series, except for Volume 2.) Their improvisations are split into 6 numbered sections. Part 1 is relatively subdued. Berger’s calm and spacious chording puts Perelman into a rhapsodic and soulful mood. Cleaver sneaks into the music with brushes that sound like sandpaper. Part 2 is more intricate and animated. Cleaver is still using brushes, but more forcefully, as Berger ups the energy level with his insistent voicings and Perelman soars into the upper registers. The third section is quietly meditative, as a slightly sour sounding Perelman engages in call and response with Berger’s relaxed and melancholy piano. Cleaver shadows the music with deft cymbal work. The calm aura continues in Part 4, a spare and lyrical encounter with bright piano chords, fairly serene saxophone and more of Cleaver’s imaginative work with brushes. Cleaver’s broadly spreading drums and cymbals lead the way on Part 5, which turns into a thrilling swirl of sounds. Perelman, for once, mostly stays down in the lower reaches of the tenor for the first few minutes, before launching into the stratosphere once again. Berger’s mischievous piano inventions, Cleaver’s chattering drums and Perelman’s deft instant melodies all come together on this intensely beautiful performance. Part 6 is the hardest piece to listen to, with Perelman going way up high into dog-whistle territory. While his control of this extreme range is astonishing, the piercingly sustained saxophone tones and the slow nature of the lengthy piece conspire to make the last section somewhat less successful than the trio’s other improvisations. Notable for Berger’s mature piano stylings and Cleaver’s exquisitely empathetic playing, Volume 1 also showcases the relatively relaxed side of Perelman’s art.
Leo CD LR 771; Ivo Perelman (ts) Karl Berger (p) Gerald Cleaver (d); Brooklyn, NY, May 2016; Parts 1-6; 58:05. www.leorecords.com