In a recording career spanning more than three decades with no sign of slowing down and every sign of speeding up, Matthew Shipp has held interest for so long by constantly pushing his craft forward. The most original living pianist in jazz does that with each time out.
The upcoming The Unidentifiable is from his Shipp’s base configuration, The Matthew Shipp Trio with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor-Baker. As this is coming a ‘full year-and-a-half’ after their last offering Signature, the ever-restless Shipp has come back to trio after another bevy of interesting side projects, and he always comes back to the Trio with a fresh energy, which is in no small part sustained by the incredibly aware Bisio/Taylor-Baker rhythm section.
“Blue Transport System” is about the flow; the flow of notes downward and back up again with an abundance of grace. There’s nothing dissonant happening here but there remains a tinge of subversion, going against the grain even as he appears accessible. Currents of electricity run through “Phantom Journey” as Bisio’s bass dance in sync with Shipp’s Morse code-like chords while Taylor-Baker stays light on his feet.
The trio plays the contemplative “Dark Sea Negative Charge” so silently, it probably wouldn’t have woken up anyone asleep in the studio, and “The Dimension” — which is Shipp alone — is a little denser and faster paced but still not creating big waves. Still, there’s a quiet nonconformity in those Shipp-ian chord sequences.
It’s fun to listen to Shipp’s remarks on “Loop” just for the way Bisio and Taylor-Baker respond to them, because they are never fall into predictable patterns. “The Unidentifiable” swings but like Monk, Nichols and Newborn, Jr., Shipp’s swing is full of delicious eccentricities.
“Virgin Psych Space” is full of back and forth between the three and as they almost seem to be daring each other to make the next move, while “Regeneration” is a frisky calypso, amply anchored by Bisio’s circular bass figure.
The longest and freest track is situated at the end. “New Heaven and New Earth” contains some ferocious group improvisation; whenever they move from one direction to the next, unanticipated one, they do so in perfect unity.
No matter how free or straight it’s played, The Unidentifiable is always eloquent, audacious and artful. The Matthew Shipp Trio continues to set the standard for the modern jazz trio of our time.
The Unidentifiable goes on sale September 18, 2020 through ESP-Disk
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