Each a brilliantly iconoclastic artist on his own, Perelman and Shipp together create a third persona entirely – a four-handed, double-sided improviser capable of the most extraordinary flights. Their duets start with no written music, not even a basic melody. They discard every conventional foundation of traditional music – chord schemes, predetermined tempo, time signature – and replace them with the adhesive chemistry of pure sound.
-- NEIL TESSER, award-winning jazz journalist
"Carving their place as one of jazz history's great duos." examiner.com
"The deep connection between Perelman and Shipp, both masters of improvisation, is a real clairvoyance…their empathy is amazing."All About Jazz
"Perelman and Shipp show unbounded artistic maturity that can be placed among the most important representations of the sax and piano jazz duo (Waldron-Lacy, Braxton-Cryspell, Bergman-Parker)." Percorsi Musicali
"Art at the highest level. You would expect no less than that from artists the caliber of Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp." Something Else! Reviews"A dazzling display of spontaneous playing, accomplished by two voices in synch with each other both musically and spiritually." Dave Liebman
"The lively and winding interweaving of the sax within the musical foundation constructed by pianist Matt Shipp produces fascinating results." Culture Jazz
ivoperelman.com matthewshipp.com
Born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, Perelman was a classical guitar prodigy who tried his hand at many other instruments – including cello, clarinet, and trombone – before gravitating to the tenor saxophone. His initial heroes were the cool jazz saxophonists Stan Getz and Paul Desmond. But although these artists’ romantic bent still shapes Perelman’s voluptuous improvisations, it would be hard to find their direct influence in the fiery, galvanic, iconoclastic solos that have become his trademark.
Moving to Boston in 1981, to attend Berklee College of Music, Perelman continued to focus on mainstream masters of the tenor sax, to the exclusion of such pioneering avant-gardists as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and John Coltrane (all of whom would later be cited as precedents for Perelman’s own work). He left Berklee after a year or so and moved to Los Angeles, where he studied with vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake, at whose monthly jam sessions Perelman discovered his penchant for post-structure improvisation: “I would go berserk, just playing my own thing,” he has stated.
Emboldened by this approach, Perelman began to research the free-jazz saxists who had come before him. In the early 90s he moved to New York, a far more inviting environment for free-jazz experimentation, where he lives to this day. His discography comprises more than 50 recordings, with a dozen of them appearing since 2010, when he entered a remarkable period of artistic growth – and “intense creative frenzy,” in his words. Many of these trace his rewarding long-term relationships with such other new-jazz visionaries as pianist Matthew Shipp, bassists William Parker, guitarist Joe Morris, and drummer Gerald Cleaver.
Critics have lauded Perelman’s no-holds-barred saxophone style, calling him "one of the great colorists of the tenor sax” (Ed Hazell in the Boston Globe); “tremendously lyrical” (Gary Giddins); and “a leather-lunged monster with an expressive rasp, who can rage and spit in violence, yet still leave you feeling heartbroken” (The Wire). Since 2011, he has undertaken an immersive study in the natural trumpet, an instrument popular in the 17th century, before the invention of the valve system used in modern brass instruments; his goal is to achieve even greater control of the tenor saxophone’s altissimo range (of which he is already the world’s most accomplished practitioner).
Perelman is also a prolific and noted visual artist, whose paintings and sketches have been displayed in numerous exhibitions while earning a place in collections around the world.
"Ivo Perelman is perhaps the greatest living musical artist of our time" @CriticalJazz
"One of the leading tenor sax players of his generation, Perelman has been described as a unique genius by no less than Gunther Schuller" Jazzwise
"..supreme..brilliant..passionate abstractionist, Ivo's playing reconcile the emotional charge with technical agility and intellectual sophistication with a rare grace" Free Jazz Alchemist
"sublimely structured, perfectly dosed music that excels in the use of dynamics, feeling for the timbre and rhythmic smoothness. Intimate, clear music portraying huge beauty, all the while being witty and able to touch your heart" Jazzflit
"the tenor saxophone you hear is miraculously unique. ..piercing, burning, meaningfully warm, lyrically expressive, dream-awakening sounds that explode with an unrivalled urgency..Extremely rare, and just perfect!! orynx-improvandsounds.blogspot.com
"Perelman is following in the footsteps of the great masters of the tenor sax..The lively and winding interweaving of the sax within the musical foundation constructed by pianist Matt Shipp produces fascinating results" Culture Jazz.
".. transcendent beauty.. quite remarkable..Perelman’s wide tenor sound with its slight vibrato contrasts beautifully with the acerbic, mordant response of the strings..all too rare in music of this kind.. a rather touching lyrical quality to it.." Jazzwise
"sensitive, flavourful and intelligent tenor sax with a unique sound..Perelman is unequaled or perhaps only equal to David Ware, a young Archie Shepp, Evan Parker and just a few others" Orynx
"An artist of real stature..a lyricism that is largely achieved by the considerable sensuality of Perelman’s approach..the performance is mercurial with the constant shifts in texture and pulse quite gripping..his tone, possessed of a steam heat solidity, and phrasing, bears marks of distinction." Jazzwise
"Perelman goes far deeper than any saxophonist to come before him. Ivo can see past the music with a zen like approach of focus, intensity and the appreciation of the stunning grandeur of silence when appropriate. Ivo Perelman has done but what a mere handful of jazz musicians have done. Some musicians are said to be "technically proficient" while others are "artistically gifted." Ivo Perelman is the best of both worlds." @CriticalJazz
"Perelman is one of the nowdays rarely encountered all-round geniuses..Ivo is also considered an internationally renowned painter, whose works adorn museums in New York and Amsterdam" Jazzpodium
"Perelman’s startling if unorthodox virtuosity..mastery with which the post-freedom saxist interwove his remarkably lyrical wails..uncanny command of the instrument’s upper-register
squawk tones”.." Best in jazz 2012, Examiner.com
"emotional power and technical prowess in equal measure.Ivo is is as indebted to the un-categorisable invention of his compatriot Hermeto Pascoal as he is to the spiritual invocations of Albert Ayler... an episodic richness that marks him out as a soloist who wants to unwind a narrative thread in the most unexpected way" Jazzwise
"Perelman is a master craftsman at deconstructing his own creative force with a special twist..Ivo continues to inspire with work unmatched by his contemporaries.. an artist with the rare gift to transcend.. this is the genius of Ivo Perelman"@CriticallJazz
"complete virtuosity…Perelman can freely articulate any musical thought he hears..like an unstoppable force of nature..he's expressing microtonal melodies that are like condensed forms of the flurries of notes he lets fly in the tenor's middle register" Culture Catch
"the deep connection between Perelman and Shipp, both masters of improvisation, is a real clairvoyance..their empathy is amazing”AAJ
"Ivo's virtuosity and individual sound tremendously lyrical has created a world within the Avant-garde that is all his own, unlike of anybody else." Gary Giddins, author, critic - The New York Times, Village Voice, The Sun
"One of today's most prolific and adventurous tenor saxophonists. A master of extended techniques with a robust tone, his supple embouchure and intrepid virtuosity facilitates a wide range of expression - from altissimo glissandi and flutter-tongued chromatics to percussive slap-tongue and staccato split-tones - all seamlessly integrated into tortuous motifs....majestic ...sensitive romanticism ...hearty, abstract lyricism ...epic, stream of consciousness cadences" All About Jazz
"The epitome of the searching artist. A conceptual instrumental visionary pushing the envelope of the creative idea. Perelman is an incredibly lyrical player that can touch an individuals soul while setting their hair on fire at the same time. He plays on and from a different artistic plane than most, a perfect marriage of the visceral and cerebral ,the extension and ease of transition as performed by Perelman is unparalleled. Think Albert Ayler on steroids." @CriticalJazz
"Perelman is a master of linear development and control with a Romantic streak as wide as Ben Webster’s vibrato". Ed Hazell , Point of Departure.org
"Perelman's music happens to be quite courteous, elegant and artistic, the sound of his saxophone can be charmingly beautiful and romantic, sometimes too beautiful as for an expressionist..pure music that is quite rare to see nowadays.." Music and Time
"Ivo is a heavyweight champ who, at
times, moves mountains via his colossal sound
and brusque attack. However, Perelman can also wind it down a few notches when delving into chamber jazz formats or exploring modern mainstream and bop.
Indeed, he's a multitasking machine." - All About Jazz
" Perelman’s sax proves the man’s willingness to reach for the uppermost pinnacles of lyricism..He travels across various stages of shamanic liberation from the body, pushing his vision at the borders between coherent stoicism and consuming catharsis" Touching Extremes
"Perelman's broad, sweeping tenor seduces the listener with his patented mixture of strongly etched melodic lines mixed with well-placed cries and screams…he's clearly his own player" Cadence
"Perelman has the powerful voice, strength and melodic development that only great artists own..he has reached considerable artistic maturity with an impressive variety of techniques on the tenor sax" All About Jazz.
“Perelman may well be one of the fiercest tenor players you will ever hear and the most unique" Digital Jazz news
"Perelman belongs to a lineage of aesthetically ambitious humanists like Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane and Henry Threadgill." James C.Hall, author, New College Director, University of Alabama
"...an entire new school of jazz..., unique genius..." Gunther Schuller, composer, conductor, jazz historian
"One of the most distinctive and imposing tenor sax voices to come along in years." DownBeat
"...a sound as passionately effusive as Ivo Perelman's is at once original, uncommon, and undeniable." AAJ
"Ivo Perelman is undoubtedly one of the great modern tenor players, a leather-lunged monster with an expressive rasp, who can rage and spit in violence, yet still leave you feeling heartbroken." The Wire
"As an innovator in extended techniques, Perelman has few peers.Make all the comparisons you want: saxophonist Ivo Perelman has his own distinctive sound." All About Jazz
"One of the greatest colorists of the tenor sax." Ed Hazell, Boston Globe
"Perelman just keeps on pumping out recordings bound to stand the test of time." All Music Guide
"...like the best free jazz tenors, Perelman's playing is shot through with a tenderness that stays just the right side of sentimentality." BBC (British Broadcast Company)
"The most important and distinctive tenor sax voices in recent years." Theiceberg.com
"Perelman is a monster with a tenor in hand, and I often feel that his music points out new directions in freejazz. His music is really complex, and he plays with a seemingly endless stream of ideas." Fire and Flux
"...the most intense, disturbing, tormenting sax player alive." Françoise Couture, Delire Actual
"Not since Coltrane duos with Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali have I experienced a sax/drums assault as powerful as Perelman's Soccerland." Los Angeles Weekly
"...fires with intensities rivaling those of John Coltrane." Chuck Berg, Lawrence Journal
"Perelman has a tenor tone worthy of Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins- one that is virtually unrivaled today in its purity and beauty." Cadence
"... innovative genius...a new approach to jazz. " Ejazz news
"...Perelman is reassessing the power of genius." Touching Extremes
"One of the most impressive tenor players of his generation." Musings
"One of the most innovative approaches to emerge during the current decade." Avant
"One of the pre-eminent tenor sax-players of our time." Option
"One of the most vital voices in the rejuvenation of free-jazz." The Ottawa Citizen
"One of the world's most remarkable jazz musicians." Buffalo News
"One of the most interesting of the new one-world breed of jazzman." The Herald
"One of the most arresting tones heard on tenor sax." Bob Rusch, Cadence
"...the most innovative saxophonist to emerge in the last 15 years." CD Review
"Among the most risk-taking jazzmen of the 1990s." All Music Guide
"Tenor sax player of immense power and grace." Oprobium, New Zealand
"On tenor Perelman is a dominant voice possessed of a big sound that is capable of great flexibility and expressiveness." Cadence
"Incendiary." CMJ
"The world-class saxophonists to come from Brazil can be ticked off on one hand. Ivo Perelman is one of that rare breed." Jazz Times
"Perelman produces music of absolutely mesmerizing grandeur." Cadence
"Jazz didn't get anymore scorching in the Nineties than Perelman's Seeds, Vision & Counterpoint." AMG
"To say that nothing new is happening in jazz is to be ignorant of Ivo Perelman." The Philadelphia Tribune
"Reinventing the spirit of Brazil's music." The Boston Phoenix
"After two decades of musical stultification, Perelman's buzz saw brashness is a breath of spring."DownBeat
"Revolutionary!" The Toronto Star
"...nothing less than miraculous... no one in the USA is playing and composing jazz with as much cross-cultural imagination as Mr. Perelman... a vital contribution to jazz history..."Norman Weinstein, ASCAP Award Critic
"Words cannot begin to convey the immediacy of Perelman. Listen!" Lawrence Journal
"Thank God for albums like this one." (Children of Ibeji) Straight No Chaser "
...album like these (Man of The Forest and Soccerland) are desperately needed today." CD Review
"Just when you thought that fire had died of contemporary jazz." Utne Reader
"Perelman is one of the few who reminds listeners that one of the most crucial elements in Albert Ayler's influential '60s work was a sense of almost unbridled fun." Aaron Cohen, Down Beat
Born 12/01/1961 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he came to the United States in 1981 to pursue a musical career. He has performed to great acclaim in jazz festivals and concerts around the world and has recorded 50 CDs. His music, a unique form of free jazz, translates itself into the striking Abstract Expressionism of his painted imagery. Just as his music evolves out of his liberation from musical convention, his imagery dispenses with traditional artistic conventions and expresses the raw energy which creates each painting. The intense flows and abrupt breaks of sound which emerge from his saxophone are reborn as zigzagging lines of color, splashed on canvas. Some of his paintings are full of agitated energy, while others are more lyrical, creating a visual moment of near silence. Instead of working from a preconceived artistic idea, Perelman lets the flowing, skittering, dancing paint lead him on. Each painting is like a performance, a set of actions in time which can happen in that particular way only once, embodying the sound of his music through the stroke of the paint brush. The notes become vibrant colors and the rhythm transcends into shape. He passionately unravels the most vivid emotions, whether playing the saxophone or approaching the canvas. There are no limits or restraints as his method of expression relies not on planning but solely on the flow of feelings. His desire for painting stems from the depths of his soul with ardent yearnings. Although largely known for his playing of the tenor saxophone, Perelman also plays piano, clarinet, cello and recorder and is a trained classical guitar player. Perelman made an immediate impression with his 1989 debut Ivo, and his subsequent work has continued to justify his critical status as one of the most important and distinctive tenor saxophone voices of recent years. His vigorous performing style has brought comparisons with John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, David Murray and, perhaps inevitably, Gato Barbieri. An air of invigorating fun surrounds some of Perelman's music, especially when working with Latin-tinged material. Elsewhere, his enthusiasm seems at times to overwhelm his surroundings and it takes equally dominant musicians to contain him and, as a result, raise the standards of performances to sometimes breathtaking heights. Perelman has worked with players including, Paul Bley, Don Pullen, Joanne Brackeen, Geri Allen, Matthew Shipp, Eliane Elias, Rashied Ali, Billy Hart, Andrew Cyrille, Jay Rosen, Ramon Lopez, Peter Erskine, Airto Moreira, Mino Cinelu, Flora Purim, Nana Vasconcelos, Reggie Workman, Dominic Duval, Paul Rodgers, John Patitucci, William Parker, Louis Sclavis and Elton Dean.
From articles by Eleanor Heartney, New York City based art critic and contributing editor to Art in America, and from: www.theiceberg.com
Matthew Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He was strongly attracted to jazz, but also played in rock groups while in high school. Shipp attended the University of Delaware for one year, then the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with saxophonist/composer Joe Maneri. He has cited private lessons with Dennis Sandole (who also taught saxophonist John Coltrane) as being crucial to his development.
Shipp has been very active since the early 1990s, appearing on dozens of albums as a leader, sideman or producer. He was initially most active in free jazz, but has since branched out, notably exploring music that touches on contemporary classical, hip hop and electronica. At the beginning of his career shipp was stylistically compared to some of his predecessors in the jazz piano pantheon but has since been recognized as a complete stylistic innovator on the piano – with AllMusic referring to his "unique and recognizable style"; and Larry Blumenfeld in Jazziz Magazine referring to Shipp as "stunning in originality". Jazziz Magazine also referred to Shipp's CD 4D as "further proof of his idiosyncratic genius."
Shipp has long been a member of saxophonist David S. Ware's quartet. He has recorded or performed with many musicians, including William Parker, DJ Spooky, Joe Morris,Daniel Carter, Roscoe Mitchell, Mat Maneri, High Priest and Beans of Antipop Consortium, and El-P.
In February 2011, Shipp released a double-disc album entitled Art of the Improviser. This release is "testament to Shipp's achievements, yet it is also a continuation of the discovery in his developmental musical language." The Chicago Tribune called the project "monumental" and "galvanic as ever."
Shipp has been continuously improving his repertoire from touring the world, writing new compositions and since 2011 been in collaborating with Barbara Januszkiewicz. Together they are exploring new territory through an avant-garde film called The Composer with Matthew Shipp / Barb Januszkiewicz.
Echoes, UK
"Shipp is a player-composer of immense character. Shipp may have "hit" less than Michael Jackson but that doesn't mean to say that he hasn't been able to touch people in a major way."
Denver Examiner, 2013's Best Albums so far.
"The piano genius in a variety of settings also scores high points for the most hilarious album title so far. This underrated master is right on all marks."
by Rob Johnson
Huffington Post
"Not sure one can do justice picking tracks for best of compilation for Shipp..he is a virtuoso with so many nooks, crannies, shades, colors and emotions in his playing.This compendium is a good place to begin."
by Dusty Wright
Icon Magazine
"When was the last time you heard the words "hits" re a jazz disc. Never mind - while none of the tunes here are radio hits, in a better world they would be. A nifty intro into one of the most creative, user friendly American jazzbos extant."
All About Jazz
"But while the shrewd programming means the album works as an outstanding sequence of music if consumed in a single sitting, it acts even more powerfully as a prompt to go and search out some of the source discs to enjoy fuller servings of particular appealing favors." by John Sharpe
Jazz Times
"Listening to this snapshot of Shipp's releases leaves one with a desire to go back and discover, or re-examine, the original albums.When it comes to compilations, there's no greater goal."
by Mike Shanley
All Music
"Greatest Hits is a welcome introduction to and a fine recollection of some of the places Shipp has been, yet it's only a small glance at the massive terrain on his soundworld map." by Thom Jurek
Something Else
"I don't think music should be listened to out of context, collections can't properly do justice to an artist's body of work, but this package proves me wrong, providing the listener with a concise survey of the man's work. Yes Matthew Shipp's Greatest Hits is indeed a fun album. by Mark Saleski
The Paradigm of Beauty
"The work of every great artist warrants a retrospective now and again. It is time for pianist Matthew Shipp to be given one; it is called Matthew Shipp Greatest Hits.
by Lyn Horton
JazzAnd Blues.blogspot.com
"Matthew Shipp has had a remarkable run of music on this label (and many others), and hopefully it will continue far into the future. If you have not had a chance to sample his extraordinary music this makes an excellent place to do so."
by Tim Niland
NPR
Jazz albums to look out for in 2013
"Acoustic and electronic; organic and conceptual; solo, trio or with some other configuration, the disc showcases his range
by Patrick Jarenwattananon
Blu Notes
"A greatest hits album from a freely improvising pianist... more so than anyone on his scene, he sounds accessible. So why not?" by Larry Blumenfeld
Things Id Rather be Doing
"Artist has the audacity to title collection greatest hits when there are few if any hits...There will be days that this will be your favorite Matthew Shipp album because it touches on such a large chunk of his back catalogue in one shot. Hear this,fall in love,and then keep digging.
by John Kenyon
Suite 101
"The artistic genius of Shipp at the piano accompanied only by his musical prowess and the ability to improvise."
Gapplegate Music Review
"Matthew Shipp has been a critical force in the new jazz by not following trends, but by making trends follow him. Matthew Shipp has been true to himself, and what that is speaks truth to us."
Each a brilliantly iconoclastic artist on his own, Perelman and Shipp together create a third persona entirely – a four-handed, double-sided improviser capable of the most extraordinary flights. Their duets start with no written music, not even a basic melody. They discard every conventional foundation of traditional music – chord schemes, predetermined tempo, time signature – and replace them with the adhesive chemistry of pure sound. -- NEIL TESSER, award-winning jazz journalist
"Perelman and Shipp show unbounded artistic maturity that can be placed among the most important representations of the sax and piano jazz duo (Waldron-Lacy, Braxton-Cryspell, Bergman-Parker)."
Percorsi Musicali
"Art at the highest level. You would expect no less than that from artists the caliber of Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp."
Something Else! Reviews
"Carving their place as one of jazz history's great duos."
Neil Tesser, Examiner.com
"The deep connection between Perelman and Shipp, both masters of improvisation, is a real clairvoyance…their empathy is amazing."
All About Jazz
"A dazzling display of spontaneous playing, accomplished by two voices in synch with each other both musically and spiritually."
David Liebman saxophonist
"The lively and winding interweaving of the sax within the musical foundation constructed by pianist Matt Shipp produces fascinating results."
Culture Jazz
"The Gift is on high level, and especially rise in the final part of the CD, introduced by Shipp’s dry lyricism, to the suspended "Without Any Warning," when the double bass with the bow opens wide space to the music, to the conclusive "Enlistment," splendid tenor sax solo , where Perelman’s great sound display the legacy of Hawkins, Webster and Rollins."
All About Jazz