Coincidence came out at the meeting of French guitarist Pascal Marzan with Ivo Perelman. Like Ivo, but later in his life, Pascal Marzan dedicated his time to the learning and the mastering the classical acoustic guitar, studying and performing the same Brazilian composer that the young Ivo teethed as a youngster : Heitor Villa-Lobos and his Préludes, Études and Guitar Concerto … But after having performed classical music and also improvised music with legendary British improvisers like guitarist John Russell, violinist Phil Wachsmann and clarinettist Alex Ward, Pascal decided very recently to refound completely his practice of his axe in tuning it very differently. He bought a new ten strings classical guitar build at the requirements of the legendary virtuoso Narciso Yepes, one of the greatest guitarist of the Twentieth Century. With a lucid and premonitory intuition, he tuned each string with an interval of a third of a tone from the next string in order to develop a kind of microtonality. Coincidentally, one of the closest musical mate of Ivo, alto virtuoso improviser Mat Maneri is completely involved in this microtonal universe since he learned it from his father, the now deceased composer and reed maestro, Joe Maneri. They even both recorded for the ECM label. When Pascal and Ivo met at one London gig, they both clicked like twins. I would add that Pascal’s tuning is allowing to play in sixth of tone, because as you know guitar frets are slicing one tone in two half-tones… and in two different scales of thirds of tones and also in equal temperament as the “normal” notes are still available. Mindboggling. Ivo Perelman strives to challenge his own diving in microtones playing above or below the “pure” notes adjusting meticulously his reed and mouthpiece air pressure and sticking to no Forte, but a softer breath with more nuances. As the intervals of the notes of this 6th tone guitar are so tiny, you wonder at listening to Dust of light/ Ears Drawing Sound. Is it a hybrid string instrument, an harp or an harpsichord? For my opinion of dedicated writer about improvised music, this is the most brilliant and deepest guitar concept in contemporary improvisation since the legendary Derek Bailey. Strangely, this string arrangement produces a spooky reverberation revealing the frail nature of the Spanish guitar body made of glued tiny pieces of wood. The session went unnoticed and the result went beyond any expectation. Confronted to all kinds of plucking and touching the strings with Pascal Marzanincredible right hand, fingers and nails and his multivoiced wild arpeggios, Perelman exceeds his current inspiration concentrating his breath and fingering to extend forcefully his high soaring notes and his singing alto range while you hear clear ruminations of past jazz heroes like Ben Webster and Don Byas or nods to Albert Ayler. The variety of musical forms created in the spur of the moment is absolutely amazing and strangely lyrical and earthy, both players making a tour de force of this unexpected musique de chambre.
Jean Michel Van Schouwburg, author of Perelman/ Shipp: Embrace of the Souls"(SMP)
PHYSICAL CD AVAILABLE SOOON !
credits
released October 28, 2020
Ivo Perelman - tenor sax
Pascal Marzan - ten string microtonal acoustic guitar
Recorded at David Hunt Studio, London UK ,feb 2020
Produced by Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg
supported by 16 fans who also own “Dust of Light / Ears Drawing Sounds”
Total mastery of patience, time, and drama create a constantly engaging journey that never gets tiresome or same-y: in fact the harder you listen the better it gets! Somehow Sorey et al. find a way to combine the deep listening and spontaneous interaction of the best jazz with the sense of every tone and sound being worth a universe of listening, which could be equally from Cage and Feldman or the accompaniment to an ancient ritual.
The recording/engineering is absolutely perfect as well. Giles
supported by 15 fans who also own “Dust of Light / Ears Drawing Sounds”
I really appreciate that with such a large group of musicians the overall sound and experience of listening is really spacious, never cluttered. The lovely recording helps that a lot, and of course the compositional aspects that make it breathe are superb- it gets more and more fun as I listen again and again. Jasper Skydecker
supported by 15 fans who also own “Dust of Light / Ears Drawing Sounds”
This music has everything I need: acoustic instruments, a slow build, layers of atypical harmonies and rhythms being added each pass through, subtle melodies and combinations. Excellent work! Little James