Touring in support of his latest release, “Impossible
Spaces”, (Constellation Records) Sandro Perri performed Tuesday night at Turner
Hall in Milwaukee. Perri began his
recording career under the name Polmo Polpo, releasing quiet electronic
music. Since 2007, he has recorded under
his own name, mixing minimal techno, with folk tinges and jazz fusion
instrumentation (which, reminded me of several recent Radiohead experiments). Adding Perri’s quiet vocals, fundamentally
low key and delicate, made listeners quite not sure if he should be singing
over the light funky groove in the background.
Wednesday night’s opener was slow and steady, building a slow groove
progression ready to take off, but not quite taking us to the big finish. The organ providing the rhythmic backbeat,
along with tight guitar riffs and Perri’s subtle and plain spoken vocals set
the tone for the evening, at times reminding me of Andrew Bird. The music slowly pulled you in and took you for
a ride. At times the music and the
vocals didn’t seem in sync creating a sound almost appearing as improvisation
but really was quite complex and ambitious.
One of the evening’s highlights was “Changes” off the latest album. Perri was not afraid to bring out the extended
jam, mixing dub funk with a breezy tropical jazz fusion sound reminiscent of
the 1970’s. It was almost as if Perri
was channeling the spirit and groove of Jay Ferguson’s “Thunder Island”,
delivering a classic AM radio vibe throughout Turner Hall.
