A Modicum of the Blues by a quintet of Ivo Perelman, Nate Wooley, Matt Moran, Mark Helias and Tom Rainey starts out with the familiar-sounding cautious bleeps and bleats of a free jazz ensemble, which slowly develops into a busy soundscape. It’s every man for himself, usually with just a hint of the blues to be heard. Sometimes it feels like a rehearsal for a song that no one seems to know, but the musicians are happy to wing it just the same. Things get pretty stormy around the eight minute mark in Part 1, driven by Rainey’s energetic drumming, with Moran’s vibes peeking in and out of the mix as a relatively calm presence in the general tumult. The music then settles right down, as if the wildness of the last few minutes has drained everyone’s energy. Perelman has recorded duet sessions with Moran, Wooley, and Rainey. Helias and Rainey have worked often together in the last 36 years, including a trio session with Perelman and a quartet date that added pianist Matt Shipp. Combining all those talents into creating a cohesive statement as this session does, is to underscore the way that Perelman casts his sessions. When Perelman and Wooley open Part 3 with a display of matching high notes, followed by Helias’ bowed bass and Moran’s bell-like vibes, it’s their previous associations that provide the foundation for their mutual interactions in this larger setting. In the true spirit of free playing, Rainey lays out for the first minutes before introducing a busy rhythm that gooses the improvisation along. The blues feeling is most pronounced in Part 4, introduced by Helias’ firm bass lines and soon picked up by an alternately growling and soaring Wooley with delicate touches from Moran and Rainey. Part 5 leads off with bass and saxophone duet that starts out with heads figuratively butting before slowly dovetailing into a more subdued encounter as the rest of the ensemble comes into the picture. Notable in this piece is a dialog between Rainey’s drums and Moran’s vibes, with Helias’ bass happily caught in the middle. At the same moment, Perelman and Wooley rejoin the fray for the final few minutes of Part 5, with Perelman getting the last word as everyone else drops out. A Modicum of the Blues is a stellar example of the ethos of totally free improvisation in a small group context. Recommended.
Fundacja Słuchaj; Nate Wooley (tpt) Ivo Perelman (ts) Matt Moran (vib) Mark Helias (b) Tom Rainey (d); Brooklyn, NY, May 2024; A Modicum Of Blues part 1-5; 46:43. sluchaj.bandcamp.com
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