Simon Moullier: Isla

  I very much enjoyed vibraphonist Simon Moullier’s 2020 trio album Countdown, and I’m equally delighted with Isla, his new quartet release. Moullier has expanded the group by bringing in pianist Lex Korten. Alexander Claffy is on bass, and drummer Jongkuk Kim is back from the trio date. From the first downbeat of Empress of the Sea, the mood of genial and tuneful swing is established. The title piece is up next, an uptempo romp that shows another side of the quartet. It’s followed by Moullier’s bossa treatment of the standard You Go to My Head, one of two pieces that join five of his well-crafted original compositions. The other is Mercer Ellington’s Moon Mist in a mellow arrangement. Listening closely to the quartet, you can frequently hear the vibist singing along with his beautifully flowing solos. His vocalizations naturally remind me of Keith Jarrett, and it strikes me that his bountiful musical imagination is akin to Jarrett’s conception of improvisation. Somehow, Moullier can get his vibes to sound like a marimba or an organ, but most often, he prefers a muted and clean sound without much vibrato. His spacious solo style work quite well paired with pianist Korten’s slightly denser approach. While Korten can get a little busy for my taste at times in his solos, his excursions are always logical and thoughtful as he maneuvers through the changes. Bassist Claffy’s solid sound and beautifully constructed lines, both as ensemble player and occasional soloist, are a pleasure throughout. His work meshes very well with Kim’s tasteful and dynamically nuanced drumming, and they make a great team. In fact, the teamwork of all the musicians is exemplary, with a cohesion that enlivens a ballad like Moon Mist and powers tunes like the lively Phoenix Eye. Isla is a real winner. I think of the Moullier group as the Post Modern Jazz Quartet: they’re that good. Absolutely worth seeking out. 

Self-produced; Simon Moullier (vib) Lex Korten (p) Alexander Claffy (b) Jongkuk Kim (d); NYC, July 2022; Isla/ You Got to My Head/ Enchantment/ Moon Mist/ This Dream/ Phoenix Eye/ Heart; 50:25. simonmoullier.bandcamp.com

Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp: Fruition

Tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman is not the kind of person who does anything halfway. His commitment to free improvisation, with no discussion or pre-conceived ideas, is total. He’s a hard worker, judging from the endless flow of new projects he’s involved with. One ongoing situation clearly energizes him: duets with pianist Matthew Shipp. Fruition is the eighteenth release by the Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp duo, and they’ve also played together in a variety of trio and quartet settings. Perelman says that the pair “believes it’s our best effort so far.” (Perelman is so prolific that I know that I won’t have the time to listen to all of them and judge for myself.) Fruition starts out in rapturous territory, with the stunning explorations of Perelman’s tenor and the utterly commanding piano of Shipp. It should go without saying that there’s not much point in even attempting to describe anything about the music. All I can say is that the power and conversational nature of these duets affect me in a profoundly soul-stirring way. By pure coincidence, I’ve just been reading China Miéville’s 2011 novel Embassytown. His speculative fiction concerns itself with an alien race who speak with two voices at once. Since they have no understanding of a single voice speaking to them, the humans who interact with them have evolved a system of ambassadors, paired humans who are so intimately connected that when they speak as one, the aliens understand them. The amazingly deep affinity that Shipp and Perelman continually exhibit in real time strikes me as a true-life manifestation of Miéville’s fascination with the very structures of language and thought. One factor, exposed here for perhaps the first time in Perelman’s massive oeuvre, is the resequencing of their improvisations, starting with Nine and concluding with Eleven. Whatever the criteria for this reordered batch of improvisations, Fruition is a thoroughly absorbing and fascinating display of two extraordinary talents at work and play. 

ESP-Disk’ ESP5070; Ivo Perelman (ts) Matthew Shipp (p); Brooklyn, NY, June 25, 2021; Nine/ Thirteen/ One/ Seven/ Fourteen/ Two/ Six/ Three/ Four/ Ten/ Eleven; 59:20. www.espdisk.com