feature photo: Anna Yatskevich
Since arriving at New York’s Downtown scene in the mid-80s, all pianist Matthew Shipp has done is to establish himself as a major figure in avant-garde jazz. More importantly, he’s done so by blazing his own path and architecting his own approach, a vernacular on piano that is every bit as distinct as Monk’s, Evans’ or Taylor’s. And to date, no one has come close to emulating his approach, it is as integral to his identity as his fingerprints.
Shipp is able to apply his personal art to any kind of setting, and playing improvised music unaccompanied is one of those settings that serves him best. His newest release The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp (September 15, 2023, Mahakala Music) alludes to the solo performance of an artist being the purest essence of that artist, and it certainly is with Matthew Shipp.
The ability to spontaneously invent a melodic development that is poignant, graceful and logical is a gift possessed by only a few, and Shipp’s got that in abundance. Consider, for example, the opener “The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp,” which paints a picture with poise and a yearning, as Shipp applies the right hues in the right places.
Many of Shipp’s hallmarks are present here. His clustered lines and emphatic chord punctuations shape “Crystal Structures” while a slower and more ruminative flow frames the majority of “That Vibration,” which culminates into a galloping trill. Shipp masterfully draws out the pace of “The,” making every chord resonate more, then picks up the tempo and hammers down for dramatic impact. Esoteric and fragile, “The Essence” brings to bear Shipp’s classical background and alternately treads light and heavy.
“Jazz Emotions” is fully of lush complexity – not to mention advanced dexterity – while “Jazz Frequency” is Shipp at his most unencumbered, with many engaging twists along the way.
Shipp wraps up the fare with a trio of shorter statements, each sketch with a distinctive quality. “Tune Into It” is delicate, “The Bulldozer” is dark and the vibration is at times thunderous, followed by the mysterious “Essence Of The Silence.”
Matthew Shipp has made a lot of solo piano records, but it never gets tiresome because of his ability and determination to express something fresh every time he sits in front of a piano. That, my friend, is the intrinsic nature of Shipp.
Pre-order/order The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp from Bandcamp.
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