Ivo Perelman: The Art Of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 2: Tarvos

Next up is The Art Of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 2: Tarvos. This series is named for some of the many moons of Saturn, an appropriately celestial reference for the multi-dimensional and otherworldly sounds of Ivo Perelman and his associates. Tarvos is another trio session, with drummer Bobby Kapp as the third man joining Shipp and Perelman. Kapp, who played with musicians like Dave Burrell, Marion Brown, and Gato Barbieri back in the Sixties, made his home in Mexico City for decades. He reemerged on the New York scene in the late Nineties and recorded Cactus, a duo set with Shipp in 2016. The pianist introduced Kapp to Perelman, which led to Tarvos. Perelman says to Neil Tesser, indefatigable liner note scribe for all of Perelman’s Leo albums, that until he met Kapp he’d never found a drummer that, like Perelman himself, “was equally free and equally Brazilian.” Kapp brings a poly-rhythmic ferocity to the music that provokes outbursts like the dense final section of Part 1 or the call and response opening of Part 4. At the same time, when he’s in the mood, Kapp prods the music with a light touch that moves things towards the world of jazz standards. There are moments on Volume 1 where Perelman nods to that tradition with fragments of quotes, and Kapp encourages that tendency. There are a few passages that allude to the 1942 song I’ll Remember April, notably at the tail end of the exuberant Part 5. The track is a delight, with Perelman way up in the altissimo range, Shipp ranging densely all over the keyboard, and a suitably chattering drum part by Kapp. Shipp’s somber piano opens Part 6, Perelman enters in a similarly melancholy mood, and the trio maintains that feeling until the stunning rave-up finish. The nearly 10 minutes of Part 7 open quietly and develop into some of the most fiery playing of the date. Tarvos is another winner in the ever-burgeoning Perelman canon.
Leo CD LR 795; Ivo Perelman (ts) Matthew Shipp (p) Bobby Kapp (d); Brooklyn, NY, October 2016; Parts 1-7; 48:28. www.leorecords.com