Jazz Articles about Matthew Shipp

Matthew Shipp: The Art of the Improviser

by John Sharpe
February 24, 2011

Any who have witnessed Matthew Shipp in action over the past few years will know that the pianist's bravura concert displays often eclipse his studio output. Unlike many jazz musicians the vast majority of Shipp's oeuvre has been recorded away from an audience. His previous four releases on Thirsty Ear have alternated between trio and solo format, but now he combines the two on this double-disc live album. With its echo of Ornette Coleman's similarly monikered collection of ...

Matthew Shipp: The Art Of The Improviser

by Mark Corroto
February 20, 2011

By now, critical listeners have formed an opinion about the music of pianist Matthew Shipp. Like his musical predecessors Cecil Taylor and Thelonious Monk, Shipp is an uncompromising voice that tends to force listeners to queue up in line, either for him or against him. With the release of The Art Of The Improviser, he has essentially summed up his first fifty years on two CDs of resolute and committed music.Like his previous 4D (Thirsty Ear, 2010), Shipp ...

Take Five with Matthew Shipp

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 2010

DOB: December 7, 1960 In: Wilmington, Delaware First Musical Memory: “My uncle (James) playing a Beethoven piece on piano." Music Inspirations: “Metaphysics and understanding the vibration language behind cosmos." Hobbies/Interests: “Metaphysics, boxing, pro wrestling." Last Book Read: “Lampshade by Mark Jacobson." Favorite TV Show: “Buffy The Vampire Slayer." Musical Tastes: “John Butcher, Jazz Corner, Marshall Allen, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Antipop Consortium, Marian McPartland, Randy Weston, ...

Matthew Shipp - Sabir Mateen: SaMa

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 25, 2010

Non hanno bisogno di presentazioni particolari, Matthew Shipp e Sabir Mateen, che il pubblico italiano ha imparato a conoscere in questi anni come due tra i più originali e generosi esponenti della scena creativa nera newyorkese, sia nei tanti progetti che gravitano intorno a William Parker, che con i rispettivi gruppi. Questo lavoro li vede duettare in una lunga suite improvvisata per piano e clarinetto [Mateen rinuncia qui al suo naturale multistrumentismo per concentrarsi su un suono che trova empatie ...

Matthew Shipp at Cafe Oto, London

by John Sharpe
March 6, 2010

Matthew Shipp/Paul Dunmall/John Edwards/Mark Sanders Cafe Oto London February 12, 2010

At first glance the opening night of New York City-based pianist Matthew Shipp's three-day residency at north London's Cafe Oto promised a fire music spectacular. Lined up to appear alongside him were three of the UK's leading improvisors in reedman Paul Dunmall, bassist John Edwards, and drummer Mark Sanders, all of whom are eminently comfortable at the burning pole of the improvised ...

Matthew Shipp: 4D

by Robert Iannapollo
February 5, 2010

Since his emergence at the start of the 1990s, pianist Matthew Shipp seems to have fostered an infinite number of options available to him. From his free jazz alliances to his electronic beat explorations (also taking into account memberships in the groups of David S. Ware and Roscoe Mitchell), Shipp seems to like to mix it up. But periodically he releases a solo CD that functions as breathing space for him. His last solo outing was One ...

Matthew Shipp: 4D

by John Sharpe
January 25, 2010

Matthew Shipp has become one of the most distinctive piano stylists operating in the free jazz continuum, recognizable after just a few notes. 4D, his sixth solo piano disc mirrors the format of its illustrious predecessor Harmonic Disorder (Thirsty Ear, 2009) though with pared back instrumentation. Altogether there are 16 cuts reflecting a wide range of approaches during a program just shy of an hour. One consequence of so many short tracks, with 10 clocking in at less than 4 ...