Ivo Perelman: Molten Gold

A tactile, umbilical cord tension binds you to the slithery movements advanced on Molten Gold, the umpteenth in a slew of hard-core free jazz releases, one of them being the twelve disc set Reed Rapture In Brooklyn (Mahakala, 2022), from the generative mind and horn of saxophonist Ivo Perelman. Recorded at ParkWest Studio by Jim Clouse, Perelman, in full form and fever, assembles fellow rogues trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Joe Morris and drummer Reggie Nicholson for over eighty minutes of pure and spontaneous combustion.

Four high-flying, twenty-minute-plus tracks, ("Aqua Regia" clocks in at just under twenty-nine minutes) make up Molten Gold two CDs. And with a combined CV that includes performances with David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Dewey Redman and a host of other vanguards, the quartet arm wrestle and barnstorm from the blaring start ("Warming Up") to Perelman's hushed frenzy finish ("Gravity")

Tour de force isn't anywhere near accurate enough to describe Molten Gold, given Perelman's long track record for blistering the sensibilities while calming the savage beast. The saxophonist by nature is ever ready to let it fly, and all four of his bandmates reach to the higher dimensions on the roiling, rubato, stuttering and exquisite "Liquid," which serves as a kind of anti-epilogue to the vast stretches of free form, roof-rocking liability that steers the whole of "Aqua Regia." From its ominous start to its lyrical flights and pleading calls, "Gravity" closes the session out on the highest of high notes. Sure this music, this ultimate display of self-expression, is not everyone's algorithm or cup of tea, but it sure beats ninety-five percent of what is out there.

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