No one can make solo piano fresh and inventive for forever like Matthew Shipp. He’s made plenty of these types of recordings and every one is a revelation. Earlier in 2024, a fresh set of revelations came from Shipp in the form of the double-disc release The Data. Recorded in a single day at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, the Steinway that Shipp commanded sounded mighty fine in this pristine setting. So did Shipp.
The title might sound somewhat clinical but the music itself is some of Shipp’s most heartfelt and ardent, informed with a lifetime of jazz and classical studies behind it, a cultured background so pervasive, it’s a reflex — not a strategy — for him. Melodies with mysteries is Shipp’s stock in trade along with the virtuosity to carry out the mission.
Every one of these seventeen tracks and original Shipp compositions has its own story to tell, each carrying a unique personality trait. Shipp is a little menacing on “#4” and begins to get frisky during “#5”, blurs the line between dissonant and melodious for “#7”, hints at the blues during “#8” and shows fragility and vulnerability on “#10.” Sometimes, as on “#11,” he can be downright moody and tangled. However, every performance resolves with purpose and poise, operating under its own code and compels repeat listens in order to decode and get deeper inside the imaginative mind of the composer.
Matthew Shipp’s The Data is currently available courtesy of RogueArt Records and can be acquired from Bandcamp.
*** Matthew Shipp vinyl and CDs on Amazon ***
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