Ivo Perelman, Aruan Ortiz, Ramon Lopez - Ephemeral Shapes (Fundacja Słuchaj, 2024)

By Don Phipps

Creative is the norm for tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman – and Ephemeral Shapes, with its amoeba-like and amorphous flexing and thematic approach continues this creativity with varying levels of intensity and mood. Joined by pianist Aruan Ortiz and drummer Ramon Lopez, Perelman, as evidenced on other recent albums, is cementing his place at the creative center of the free music universe.

Perelman eschews formalism; instead, as is his way, he prefers a more spontaneous approach that relies on his bandmates to listen carefully and follow or lead as necessary to complete the composition. This is quite evident in “Shape 1,” where from the start one senses Ortiz and Lopez waiting on Perelman to set the musical direction before offering support for where the various musical lines are headed. While there are outbursts and passion to the opening number, there is a definitive arc that rotates from short, syncopated notes to roller coaster sprints and full chordal clusters before resolving in what one might characterize as a somber, reflective abstraction.

There is an early morning eeriness to many of the openings and sometimes these resolve in more intense passages towards the end of the compositions. Take “Shape 2,” which slowly rumbles about as one might awkwardly move in a dark room where footing is uncertain. “Shape 4” also has this early a.m. haze – fragments of tossing and turning – a restless late-night séance of sound. Listen for Ortiz’s beautiful runs and bluesy chords behind Perelman’s slow metamorphosis. The extended starts to “Shape 6” and “Shape 7” likewise open with a dark late late evening meditation. Perelman’s plaintive wail and use of the lower register of the tenor sax add to the beautiful drifting themes that permeate these numbers.

The album also offers lively expositions. “Shape 3” rolls about like a lifesaver on the tongue, shifting from side to side to gain more flavor. Perelman challenges the trio with intense technique that is echoed by Ortiz and supported by Lopez. And the humor in “Shape 5” is hard to miss – sounding like a drunk stagger through an alley after some hard drinking.

Perelman pulls out all the stops on this album – from aggressive tonguing to mad dashes, from soulful wails and piercing high notes to gentle whispers – it is all here. Ortiz responds with various techniques – splashes, darts, rumbles, and full chordal clusters. Lopez also adds to the mix, with excellent cymbal work and snare effects. However, he tends to overuse the bass drum to build intensity, and this can be annoying at times.

The music of Ephemeral Shapes has moments of great force sprinkled with contemplative passages that reflect a shapeless consciousness – a consciousness that responds to mood and information and reacts accordingly. These moments happen in everyone’s daily life. And perhaps the best we can do is shape them, as this sax trio has done, in a manner that makes them as meaningful as they are irrational. Great beauty has never sounded so reflexive.