Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp: Fruition

Although missing from Ivo Perelman’s Brass and Ivory Tales, a nine-CD collection of sax-piano duets, Matthew Shipp has recorded 18 duo albums with the Brazilian-born tenor saxophonist, including this new masterwork. Perelman is a duet fanatic—he just released 103 digital tracks paired with 12 different reed players—but Shipp seems to be his favorite partner. What their deep familiarity breeds is music nourished by loving respect, shared priorities, and ego-dissolving vulnerability that allows for unfiltered communication in the most intimate of spaces. These 11 pieces range from four to seven-and-a-half minutes in length. Within those spans, you’ll hear seemingly infinite varieties of phrases, harmonies, melodic tête-à-têtes, rhythmic agreements and divergences, and both subtle and extravagant approaches to touch, breath, density, and volume. That all this affectionate sparring took place spontaneously adds to the magic. Listening to this disciplined and interconnected free jazz is like standing in the middle of a basketball court while Harlem Globetrotters Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal dribble and pass around you. The music is serious, the stuff of life for these two musicians, and it’s challenging, but it fully engages the willing, and leaves you smiling in wonder.