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Ivo Perelman - IVO (K2B2 2769) record & cd reviews * * * * 1/2 |
| The Spirit of Albert Ayler hovers over this startling debut by Ivo Perelman, a gifted 29 year old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who possesses one of the most distinctive and imposing tenor voices to come along in years. An impassioned player given to dramatic flights of out playing, his boundless energy, searching nature and searing falsetto register clearly place him in the Ayler - Pharoah Sanders camp. And that intensity is underscored by a strange Iyricism that invites the listener in even as it challenges.
On the album's opener, "Slaves of Jo" Ivo enters with a nod to Ayler, blowing a simple sing-songy line before totally deconstructing the piece and heading to higher ground urged on by Don Preston's dense block chords and Flora Purim's vocal prodding. Patitucci roams freely on electric six-string bass while Neidlinger and Erskine hold down the groove. They switch roles on the sparser "On The Street," where Erskine is allowed freedom to roam while the dual acoustic bassists anchor the piece and keep Ivo from sailing off into the ether. The rambunctious reedman threatens to explode on "Tereza of Jesus," an energized waltz that features some virtuoso turns on acoustic bass by Patitucci along with some Cecil-styled clusters and rolling on the ivories by Preston. Preston often supplies a renegade edge to this project; particulary with his surreal synth work on "The Carnation and the Rose," a throbbing samba beat number that might be subtitled "Albert Ayler Goes To Carnival." And Ivo responds eagerly to such subversive cues. On two duets with his hometown colleague, pianist Eliane Elias -- "The Day You Will Want Me" and Milton Nascimento's "Point Of Sand" - the saxophonist reveals a tender, romantic side. Other than that, it's full steam ahead into the stratosphere. Bill Milkowski |
