Things we like: Ivo Perelman

It would be difficult to imagine an artist more prolific than Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman -- perhaps Matthew Shipp, Damon Smith, or David Murray in his heyday, but that's the league. By his own count, Perelman has 13 discs out on various labels this year alone. I've been digging Truth Seeker on upstart Polish indie Fundacja Sluchaj! (trio with Mark Helias and Tom Rainey) and Magical Incantation on Soul City Sounds (duo with the aforementioned Matthew Shipp). Three that just dropped in August present quite an embarrassment of riches.

Joy, with violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul, is the second volume in Perelman's Duologues series for his own Ibeji label (sadly not Bandcamp available, only on Spotify). Fluke-Mogul is an adventurous improviser who uses percussive bowing, staccato double-stops, and sweeping glisses to achieve some of the effects free jazz saxophones are known for; at times, on Joy, it's hard to tell where they stop and where Perelman begins as the two blend their musical languages.

On Vox Popoli, Vox Dei, released on Mahakala, Czech violinist-vocalist Iva Bittova's vocalese mirrors Perelman's scalar gymnastics and multiphonics in uncanny ways, then stakes out melodic territory of its own, demonstrating her remarkable range and control. (Bittova appeared in the Fred Frith documentary Step Across the Border.) Perelman's a master of dynamics as well as pure power, which makes these intimate encounters endlessly interesting. Longtime Matthew Shipp Trio bassist Michael Bisio provides the solid support for which he's known, and a third melodic voice with his deft arco work. The third track pulls out all the stops, with the gypsy tinge in Bittova's violin clearly audible and her vocalisms at their most irrepressible.

Lastly, Messa di voce, also on Mahakala, features another vocalist, Fay Victor (recently heard on Miles Okazaki's Miniature America), New England improv eminence Joe Morris on bass, and Ramon Lopez on drums. In this context, Victor's mellifluous voice is like another instrument, weaving a contrasting melodic line around Perelman's glossolalia and over the bustling rhythm section. At other times, Perelman and Morris (using his bow) emulate Victor's vocalese. Everyone involved is a master of their craft, including recording engineer extraordinaire Jim Clouse, who recorded, mixed, and mastered the session, as he's done for much of Perelman's catalog. Clouse has been crucial to the documentation of creative music in NYC.

Perelman still has two more albums due out in October: Polarity 3 with Nate Wooley on Burning Ambulance, and Duologues 3: Crystal Clear with Ingrid Laubrock on Ibeji. Stay tuned...