Saxophonist Ivo Perelman, pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and violist Mat Maneri have worked together in many different projects for three decades (four, in the case of Shipp and Perelman) – all of it challenging to various degrees. Armageddon Flower is no different. Bringing together free improvisation with chamber music is the order of the day here – just look at that title. Essentially Shipp and Parker provide a constantly shifting backbone on which Perelman and Maneri wave gangly limbs. The songs breathe like dragons, steady and slow at first, but exuding fire before too long. Listen to the massive “Tree of Life,” which sounds like it holds together only by sheer will on the part of its participants. In truth, it clings to Parker’s distorted arco, as Perelman and Maneri flow together and fly apart. The title track starts off with a slow jam rhythm nearly like R&B – seriously, trying snapping your finger to fill in the beat – but turns stentorian, Shipp pounding his keyboard like a martinet while Perelman swirls like rain in a windstorm and the strings ruffle the earth. As always with good improvisational records, Armageddn Flowers flirts with beauty, but courts chaos.
