Home » Jazz Articles » Matthew Shipp
Jazz Articles about Matthew Shipp
Matthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song
by Troy Collins
Matthew Shipp has long been considered one of the leading pianists of his generation. Collaborating with artists from wide ranging genres over the past three decades, Shipp has maintained a distinctively singular vision with an immediately recognizable sound. Publicized as Shipp's final release for Thirsty Ear, Piano Song follows in the footsteps of The Conduct of Jazz, his 2015 trio recording for the revered label, although he is slated to remain curator of the imprint's ground-breaking “Blue Series."
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song
by Mark Corroto
The finest compliment you can pay an artist is that his music is instantly recognized in a blindfold test. Sure, back in the day most experienced listeners could identify a Bud Powell, Bill Evans, or Oscar Peterson recording. It's just, these days, there are so many Powell, Evans, and Peterson soundalikes, schooled in the art of emulation, that identity is no longer a prized commodity. That is, unless you value an original voice, one like that of Matthew Shipp.
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song
by Matthew Aquiline
It's difficult to encapsulate pianist Matthew Shipp's inimitable musical vision and approach exclusively with words. The elusiveness of his aesthetic stems from its malleability: Shipp retains his unwavering objective of unfettered expression, yet never fully eschews tradition, yielding an unrivaled brand of stirring music. A consummate innovator, Shipp's singular musical vocabulary has matured and diversified over decades of enterprising music, spanning a multitude of genres and musical ensembles. 2016 was a particularly fruitful year for Shipp, with releases ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp: Let's Do Lunch!
by Yuko Otomo
When Matthew Shipp asked me to design the cover art for his Points album (Silkheart Records, 1992), I showed him works from the on-going drawing study I was engaged in. He picked one graphite drawing and said, “Wow! This is exactly what's happening inside my mind when I play the piano!" Here, we talk of the history of his musicianship; creative process; spirituality; interest in literature and life in New York City. I am blessed to have known ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song
by Karl Ackermann
Recent months in 2016 have seen the release of at least a half-dozen albums featuring Matthew Shipp including The Uppercut (ESP-Disk) with Polish reed player Mat Walerian, Live in Sant'Anna Arresi, 2004 (AUM Fidelity), a duo release with the late David S. Ware, the Bobby Kapp duo recording Cactus (Northern-Spy Records) and The Core Trio Live Featuring Matthew Shipp (Evil Rabbit Records). The four represent a broadly diverse array of music and now Piano Song further expands the artist's portfolio. ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song
by Jakob Baekgaard
Depending on your perspective, tradition can both be a blessing and a burden. Especially in jazz, it is hard to say something new and this is true as well when it comes to the noble art of the piano trio. Thelonious Monk has been there, Bill Evans has been there and Cecil Taylor has been there--just to name a few innovators. It has become harder to identify gigantic stylistic leaps, but subtle innovations happen all the time. Recently, ...
Continue ReadingScott Amendola vs. Wil Blades: Greatest Hits
by Doug Collette
Hardly the adversarial enterprise its billing implies, Greatest Hits is not keyboardist Wil Blades' first duo with a master percussionist: he recorded Shimmy (Amulet, 2012) with Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin & Wood fame) in 2012. And any music lover who relished Martin's somewhat more abstract collaboration with keyboardist Medeski, Mago (Amulet, 2007) will be nevertheless satisfied with the largely earthy, accessible results of this project: this wryly-titled collaboration with drummer Scott Amendola is a comparable companion piece, even though ...
Continue Reading
