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Bobby Kapp / Matthew Shipp: Cactus
by Karl Ackermann
After a productive period in the 1960s, drummer Bobby Kapp revived his career at the start of the millennium. Among his latter projects was The Fine Wine Trio with pianist Richard Wyands and bassist Gene Perla. The group was commissioned by the US State Department to tour Africa and Jordan as “Jazz Ambassadors." That music, being decidedly mainstream, did not reflect Kapp's free jazz affinity having played with the likes Archie Shepp and much more recently with alto saxophonist Noah ...
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by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Bobby Kapp, free jazz spirit in New York in the mid-sixties, relocated to Mexico City, to the Artists' colony San Miguel de Allede. But he gets around, and on a return to New York he joined pianist Matthew Shipp to record a terrific set of duo improvisations called Cactus. Shipp, the better-known half of the team, plays with a vehemence that parallels his public persona--a prickly, chip-on-the-shoulder, in-your-face approach, a sort of Randy Weston meets Cecil Taylor ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp/Michael Bisio: Live in Seattle
by Mark Corroto
The Italian renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and scientist Michelangelo di Lodovico is often quoted, when referring to his 17-foot sculpted masterpiece David, “every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." The same thought comes to mind when two musical sculptors chip away at everything that doesn't sound euphonic to, well, you get the idea. For some time now, the pair, bassist Michael Bisio and pianist ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: The Conduct of Jazz
by Glenn Astarita
Influential progressive jazz pianist/improviser, Matthew Shipp boasts an extensive discography as a group leader, soloist and in-demand session artiste. During the past three decades he's amassed an immense discography amid his affiliations with like-minded musicians representing the USA and Euro-jazz circuits. On this piano trio date, Shipp exemplifies to a very high degree, his uncanny knack for seamlessly bridging the avant-garde space with modern jazz. Unlike similar experimental or outside motivations by many of his peers, the pianist's muse is ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: The Conduct of Jazz
by John Sharpe
A glance at pianist Matthew Shipp's discography reveals that small group work has long been a focus. Indeed in recent times one of the prime outlets for his artistry is his classic piano trio, which ranks among the pre-eminent outfits in modern jazz. The Conduct Of Jazz represents Shipp's twelfth release in the format. Although there has been gradual change in personnel over the years--Newman Taylor Baker makes his debut on the drum stool alongside monster bassist Michael Bisio, replacing ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Quartet: Our Lady Of The Flowers
by John Sharpe
Our Lady Of The Flowers, titled in homage to French writer Jean Genet, constitutes the second disc by Declared Enemy, a familiar foursome convened by pianist Matthew Shipp. That association apart, the participants share a lot of history together. As a result they move like a finely tuned machine with well oiled parts through a program of nine selections credited to the pianist, but which sound like group inventions. And those parts are magnificent. Drummer Gerald Cleaver creates ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: The Conduct of Jazz
by Troy Collins
One of today's foremost pianists, Matthew Shipp has demonstrated the breadth of his artistry in numerous settings over his three decade career, including genre-defying electro-acoustic experiments. Recent years have found him narrowing his focus to concentrate on intimate acoustic efforts however, especially in one of the jazz tradition's most venerable formats--the classic piano trio. The Conduct of Jazz is the fifth trio recording to feature Michael Bisio as Shipp's principal bassist since 2011's The Art of the Improviser ...
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