Jazz Articles about Matthew Shipp

Matthew Shipp: Equilibrium

by Mark Corroto
January 2, 2003

The musical explorations of Matthew Shipp in this new century remind one of similar investigations by Miles Davis forty years ago. Back then, Miles explored modal jazz and his audience followed. He played third stream music, a combination of jazz and classical, and lifted his audience, as all of us wanted to explore Spanish music after his sketches.

Shipp, who began his career on the outside reaches of free jazz and classical music, has turned into the ...

Matthew Shipp String Trio: By The Law Of Music

by Glenn Astarita
November 1, 2002

This is a reissue of the original 1996 Hat Art recording. Yet, pianist Matthew Shipp has gone on to release umpteenth solo outings besides his intermittent performances with bassist William Parker and violinist Mat Maneri. Other than the trio’s rather abstract rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Solitude,” Shipp composed the remaining twelve pieces.

They venture into what has now become familiar territory – where the band delves into microtonal patterns, and shifting tonalities. The trio also implements various ...

Matthew Shipp: Songs

by Jon Wagner
September 10, 2002

A recent blockbuster art show at MoMA featured the German artist Gerhard Richter. Richter works in a variety of mediums, and his work takes different forms -- from a representational, pictorial style to a totally abstract expressionist, non-pictorial style. But Richter's work bears his strong stamp whether he's going figurative or freer.

One group of paintings featured abstract variations on a figurative theme. The first painting in the group was representational and wonderfully rendered, and the others departed from that ...

Matthew Shipp: Songs

by AAJ Staff
June 13, 2002

In a jazz world dominated by tradition, a few restless musicians stand out as pure idiosyncrasy. Pianist Matthew Shipp is one of these rare people. His inner logic, as restless and angular as it might be, makes it impossible to plop him in any category. Within his own small groups, he has laid down some sublimely gothic, dense statements as well as airy, floating delicacies. His efforts in David S. Ware's quartet have been remarkably emotive and grounded. But his ...

Matthew Shipp: Nu Bop

by AAJ Staff
February 1, 2002

Three decades ago, Herbie Hancock revolutionized the role of the piano by melding it with a textured funk groove. The popular result, Headhunters, opened a whole generation's worth of ears to the accessible new sound. And it exemplified a rule that jazz players everywhere have taken to heart: context is everything.

Matthew Shipp takes Hancock's lead on Nu Bop, which encompasses a full range of sound from acoustic improvisation to funk, hip-hop, and electronica. His colleagues on this record include ...

Matthew Shipp: Nu Bop

by Mark Corroto
February 1, 2002

First off, let’s silence the cries of ‘heretic’ and ‘sell-out.’ Sure Matthew Shipp’s latest disc aligns itself with DJ and club culture, but this is no compromise to smooth-fusion. We all know Matthew Shipp walks different streets than most musicians. His music is, and has always been, about the exploration of free principles at the crossroads of classical and jazz music. His most challenging recordings can be found on the Hatology label and his most accessible on Thirsty Ear's Blue ...

Matthew Shipp: New Orbit

by Mark Corroto
January 1, 2001

I was scribbling notes while driving and listening to Matthew Shipp’s latest. Nothing any neurotic American jazz fan hasn’t done. It was my first go round with his new quartet and just before I changed three lanes, so as not to miss my exit, I scribbled “early-Jarrett and late-Corea meet Miles and Gil Evans in a Texas death cage match.” Besides the deathrace 2000 I do everyday, the energy forces from this particular quartet always give me the feeling there ...