On ‘Triptych I, II & III,’ Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp never, ever wander aimlessly trying to figure out what to play next. It all comes out naturally and it comes in the form of actual melodies, even if those melodies are constantly shifting and mutating.
Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp both thrive on finding different partners with which to exchange fresh ideas, but they always return to this special duo.
If you’re looking for a guitar / piano / acoustic bass combo that breaks all the rules, there’s probably only Gordon Grdina, Matthew Shipp and Mark Helias.
Kirk Knuffke has long been called a rising-star cornet player but ‘Gravity Without Airs’ is not the work of an ascending artist but a completely developed musician.
Matthew Shipp’s compositional skills are standout on his trio’s latest collection ‘World Construct,’ usually an approach that is at once very captivating and idiosyncratic.
A lot of jazz records are about compositions and chops. Michael Bisio and Matthew Shipp’s ‘Flow of Everything’ is more about the connectedness between two very creative musicians.
Listening to Matthew Shipp create on unaccompanied piano is like peering into the soul of a man. ‘Codebreaker’ exposes the soul of an artist absorbing decades of accomplishment but still capable of decades more.
‘Village Mothership’ is not merely Whit Dickey, William Parker and Matthew Shipp going off to their corners doing their own thing, these are three strongly distinct musical personalities able to interlock with each other while unconsciously maintaining their identities.
Matthew Shipp and William Parker’s ‘Re-Union’ is a set of improv pieces that reveals the true extent of unity of purpose and direction that comes from more than three decades of playing together in nearly every imaginable setting.
When you listen to any of the dozens of records that Perelman and Matthew Shipp have made over the years, you can understand why this communion deserves a box set kind of celebration. And ‘Procedural Language’ is yet another reason to celebrate.
