Ivo Perelman: The Ventriloquist (2003)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: February 13, 2003

At times, these five musicians’ collective aura might ring something like heavyweight boxers going toe-to-toe. However, the forceful implications are perhaps a bit more complementary! Saxophonist Ivo Perelman and bass clarinetist Louis Sclavis lead the charge by engaging in a series of jabs, flurries and counter-attacks. Yet the key ingredients reside within mutual understanding, cohesiveness, clarity of ideas and much more. In essence, this release features an all-star lineup, plus the lesser-known but thoroughly imaginative pianist Christina Wodrascka.

It’s all about free jazz, with noticeable elements of structure and linear frameworks amid moments of Albert Ayler-type intensity, witnessed on “Meliphobia,” for example. On “Place des Vosgas,” the soloists engage in cat-and-mouse dialogue,amid gobs of synergistic adventures and circular motifs. Through it all, Perelman and Sclavis get the job done in vigorous fashion. The woodwind specialists’ complementing styles fuse—or perhaps channel—the energies of the rhythm section’s whirling flows and meticulously shaped designs. Easily one of Perelman’s finest outings to date! Irrefutably recommended...

Visit Leo Records on the web.

Track Listing: 1.Iambic Search 2.Meliphobia 3.500 4.Fish Broth 5.Place des Vosges 6.The Ventriloquist

Personnel: Ivo Perelman: tenor saxophone

Record Label: Leo Records
Style: Modern Jazz