Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Darius Jones / Matthew Shipp: Cosmic Lieder

101

Darius Jones / Matthew Shipp: Cosmic Lieder

By

Sign in to view read count
Darius Jones / Matthew Shipp: Cosmic Lieder
Duets with saxophonists loom large in pianist Matthew Shipp's discography. His first release featured one such with a young Rob BrownSonic Explorations (Cadence Jazz, 1988)—and there have been further outings over the years with other reed men, including Roscoe Mitchell, Ivo Perelman, Evan Parker and Sabir Mateen. To add to that impressive roster comes a worthy addition in Cosmic Lieder, with talented newcomer alto saxophonist Darius Jones, who received serious plaudits for his stunning 2009 debut Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), also on the Aum Fidelity imprint.

Both men sublimate their considerable talents to discover a shared conception of bridled passion and abstract expression, distilled into 13 short vignettes in an intimate studio program just shy of 40 minutes. Though jointly credited, each piece has the feel of spontaneous but measured generation, largely confined within the initial parameters. There is no grandstanding: although the two participants are active virtually the whole time they intertwine with high levels of responsiveness, demonstrating both refined sensibilities and big ears. Despite his penchant for aching melody, Jones deals mainly in the austere and atonal, while Shipp avoids his signature trait of insistent repeated patterns but still sounds like no-one but himself.

Absorbed in their own sound world, the pair creates an overall mood of anguished introspection. Against that grain, the opening "Bleed" pitches keening alto against austere romantic piano in a folk-inflected extemporization which speaks of elemental longing. A similar feeling pervades the start of "Ultima Thule" before increasing fragmentation sets the scene for much that follows. While Shipp's thunderous residencies in the bass register often prompt Jones to guttural siren songs edged with controlled multiphonics, the reed man at other times leavens his litany of distortions with piping undulations as on the staccato "Motherboxxx." Overt structure surfaces on "Mandrakk" where passages of plucked piano strings and juddering alto harmonics sandwich a sweetly contrasting encounter between rippling piano and melodic saxophone. The twosome never outstay its welcome, and ultimately Cosmic Lieder provides a strong complement to Shipp's outstanding Art Of The Improviser (Thirsty Ear, 2011), showing yet another side to his artistry.

Track Listing

Bleed; Ultima Thule; Zillo Valla; Multiverse; Mandrakk; Overvoid; Weeja Dell; Motherboxxx; Black Lightning; Nix Uotan; Jonesy; 4-D Vision; Geh-Jedollah.

Personnel

Darius Jones
saxophone, alto

Matthew Shipp: piano; Darius Jones: alto saxophone.

Album information

Title: Cosmic Lieder | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: AUM Fidelity

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.