Ivo Perelman: The Art Of The Improv Trio, Volume 5

In a brief statement that appears in Ivo Perelman’s The Art Of The Improv Trio, Volume 5, Joe Morris writes “Improvising is action ... informed by a philosophical and aesthetic disposition.” Morris wields his main instrument, the electric guitar, on this release, with drummer Gerald Cleaver aboard as well. The utter freedom of a Perelman date (previous volumes in this series are here) encourages the musicians to explore a variety of improvisational strategies during the nine numbered sections. Starting with the robust Part 1, which effectively marks the territory, the trio moves into the slow moving Part 2. Cleaver largely goes his own way while tenor and guitar compete for attention. Part 3 features Perelman and Morris playing a rapid call and response game, while contrastingly, Part 4 is denser and spikier, with descents into gloomy commentary, plenty of scrabbly interplay and, in the last few minutes, an understated duet between Morris and Cleaver. Part 5 is a moody four minutes of call and response by Morris and Perelman with minimal commentary by Cleaver. The quickly mutating Part 6 starts out rather pointillistic and atomized before settling down a little into a recognizably conversational mode. Perelman’s playing on this one exploits his range, with a long stay in the lower registers of the tenor before leaping up to the high end. If Part 6 displays the wide timbral extent of Perelman’s tenor, in Part 7 he mostly stays up in the extreme highs of the altissimo range that he can commandingly elicit from the horn. Morris follows him up the fretboard at first before weaving his own counter-spell. The longest piece is Part 8 which finds the trio in their most congenial mood. Their simultaneous solos bounce off one another with a steady pulse to guide them on this beautifully realized excursion. As a coda, the brief finale carefully limns the high end in a quietly meandering fashion. Volume 5 is often quieter than you might expect with an electric guitar in the line-up, but as always with Perelman and friends, the intensity and honesty are impressive, and this installment is well worth your time.
Leo CD LR 775; Ivo Perelman (ts) Joe Morris (el g) Gerald Cleaver (d); Brooklyn, NY, July 2016; Parts 1-9; 51:27. www.leorecords.com