Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mark O'Leary / Matthew Shipp: Labyrinth
Mark O'Leary / Matthew Shipp: Labyrinth
ByShipp's flickering progressions and rhythmically inclined block chords offer a fertile underpinning throughout. They work as a cohesive duo while injecting melodic intervals along the way. The Labyrinth motif comes to fruition throughout, where the duo dissects, interweaves, and refreshes the core song-forms on a continual basis.
O'Leary's use of volume control techniques cast an ethereal aura to Shipp's dainty voicings on "Mosaic." Here, the musicians project a harrowing mindset, framed with a minimalist-like edge. Consequently, they generate some high heat on "The Flock" due to the artists' cat-and-mouse interplay; abrupt detours and ephemeral progressions, occasionally offset by a subliminal nod to the blues. In other settings, the guitarist uses distortion techniques while Shipp complements by enacting a more physical approach to the piano.
The musicians' rapidly-paced impetus is perhaps analogous to an action-packed film, brimming with the proverbial twists, turns and unanticipated surprises. It's a curiously interesting release by two of the premier improvisers in the business.
Track Listing
Four Gardens; Secret Miracle; Mosaic; Aleph; The Flock; House of Asterion; Coptic Night
Personnel
Mark O'Leary
guitarMark O'Leary: guitar; Matthew Shipp: piano
Album information
Title: Labyrinth | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: FMR Records
< Previous
Jazz Skat Gumbo
Next >
Take Five With Jim Miller