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Matthew Shipp: Piano Vortex
Part of what makes Piano Vortex work on different levels at once is the strength of the assembled group. Shipp's associations with Whit Dickey and Joe Morris stretch back nearly to the beginning of his career. That Morris is heard here on double-bass, rather than his more customary electric guitar, is, at last, beside the point. While Morris has been in the unfortunate position of growing as a bassist in front of an audience that already knew him as a masterful musician, here he at last sounds in his own on the upright.
Shipp's own angular playing is softened for this session, the edges rounded, in a way comparable to Monk's progression over the years. The eight tracks rely on structure, but not on stated themes, managing to feel at once exploratory and familiar. The group stretched out a bit more—but not radically so—at their Aug. 27, 2007 release party at New York's The Blue Note. They played one long piece, but following much of the mood of the album: Dickey's light, fleeting brushwork or muted rolls and Morris in the middle, matching Shipp's quick lines. The bass and drums seemed to play tag team with the piano, spinning off Shipp's repetitions and then reducing them to metered solos. Shipp's proclivities—small melodies, hymns and nursery rhymes—still peeked through but, as on the album, in a manner palatable to Blue Note's dinner crowd.
Track Listing
Piano Vortex; Keywswing; The New Circumstance; Nooks and Corners; Sliding Through Space; Quivering with Speed; Slips Through The Fingers; To Vitalize
Personnel
Matthew Shipp
pianoMatt Shipp: piano; Joe Morris: bass; Whit Dickey: drums.
Album information
Title: Piano Vortex | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Thirsty Ear Recordings
About Matthew Shipp
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