Matthew Shipp
Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader.
Matthew Shipp | |
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Matthew Shipp in 2005. | |
Background information | |
Born | Wilmington, Delaware, United States | December 7, 1960
Genres | Free jazz, avant-garde jazz, free improvisation, post bop |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Piano |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | Thirsty Ear, FMP, No More, hatOLOGY |
Website | matthewshipp |
Early life
Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He was strongly attracted to jazz, but also played in rock groups while in high school. Shipp attended the University of Delaware for one year, then the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with saxophonist/composer Joe Maneri. He has cited private lessons with Dennis Sandole (who also taught saxophonist John Coltrane) as being crucial to his development.
Later life and career
Shipp moved to New York in 1984[1] and has been very active since the early 1990s, appearing on dozens of albums as a leader, sideman, or producer. Shipp, before making a living playing music, worked in a bookshop as an assistant manager. He got fired, he threw some books at his boss, and he decided he wouldn't look for a day job anymore.[1] He was initially most active in free jazz but has since branched out, notably exploring music that touches on contemporary classical, hip hop, and electronica. At the beginning of his career Shipp was stylistically compared to some of his predecessors in the jazz piano pantheon but has since been recognized as a complete stylistic innovator on the piano – with AllMusic referring to his "unique and recognizable style"; and Larry Blumenfeld in Jazziz Magazine referring to Shipp as "stunning in originality." Jazziz Magazine also referred to Shipp's CD 4D as "further proof of his idiosyncratic genius."
Shipp was a longtime member of saxophonist David S. Ware's quartet with bassist William Parker and alternating drummers. He has recorded or performed with many other musicians, including High Priest and Beans of Antipop Consortium, Michael Bisio, Guillermo E. Brown, Daniel Carter, Whit Dickey, Newman Taylor Baker, DJ Spooky, El-P, Susie Ibarra, Mat Maneri, Roscoe Mitchell, Joe Morris, Ivo Perelman, and Mat Walerian.
In February 2011, Shipp released a double-disc album entitled Art of the Improviser. This release is "testament to Shipp's achievements, yet it is also a continuation of the discovery in his developmental musical language."[2] The Chicago Tribune called the project "monumental" and "galvanic as ever."[3]
Shipp has been continuously improving his repertoire from touring the world, writing new compositions and, since 2011, has been collaborating with Barbara Januszkiewicz. Together they are exploring new territory through an avant-garde film called The Composer with Matthew Shipp / Barb Januszkiewicz.
On September 24, 2013, Thirsty Ear Records released a solo piano CD by Shipp called Piano Sutras. Will Layman, writing for PopMatters, described it as:
the kind of record we talk about and play for each other decades later... This is music that frames up a whole history: of an artist, of listeners, of the artists who formed the history of the art form, of the culture and time that allowed this art to flourish.[4]
Discography
As leader/co-leader
Release year | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Sonic Explorations | Cadence Jazz | Duo with Rob Brown (alto sax) |
1992 | Points | Silkheart | Quartet with Rob Brown (alto sax), William Parker (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1992 | Circular Temple | Quinton | Trio with William Parker (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1994 | Zo | Rise | Duo with William Parker (bass) |
1995 | Critical Mass | 2.13.61 | Quartet with Mat Maneri (violin), William Parker (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1996 | Symbol Systems | No More | Solo piano |
1996 | Prism | Brinkman | Trio with William Parker (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1996 | 2-Z | 2.13.61 | Duo with Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones) |
1997 | The Flow of X | 2.13.61 | Quartet with Mat Maneri (violin), William Parker (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
1997 | Before the World | FMP | Solo piano |
1997 | By the Law of Music | hatHUT | String Trio with Mat Maneri (violin), William Parker (bass) |
1997 | Thesis | hatOLOGY | Duo with Joe Morris (guitar) |
1998 | The Multiplication Table | hatOLOGY | Trio with William Parker (bass), Susie Ibarra (drums) |
1998 | Strata | hatOLOGY | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet), Daniel Carter (saxophones, flute, trumpet), William Parker (bass) |
1999 | DNA | Thirsty Ear | Duo with William Parker (bass) |
1999 | Magnetism | Bleu Regard | Solo, duo and trio performances with Rob Brown (alto sax, flute), William Parker (bass) |
2000 | Gravitational Systems | hatOLOGY | Duo with Mat Maneri (violin) |
2000 | Pastoral Composure | Thirsty Ear | Quartet with Roy Campbell (trumpet), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) |
2001 | Expansion, Power, Release | hatOLOGY | String Trio with Mat Maneri (violin), William Parker (bass) |
2001 | New Orbit | Thirsty Ear | Quartet with Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) |
2002 | Songs | Splasc(h) | Solo piano |
2002 | Nu Bop | Thirsty Ear | With William Parker (bass), Guillermo E. Brown (drums), Daniel Carter (sax, flute), FLAM (synths, programming) |
2003 | Equilibrium | Thirsty Ear | With William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), Khan Jamal (vibes), FLAM (synths, programming) |
2003 | Antipop vs. Matthew Shipp | Thirsty Ear | |
2003 | The GoodandEvil Sessions | Thirsty Ear | With Roy Campbell (trumpet), Alex Lodico, Josh Roseman (trombone), Miso (turntables), William Parker (bass), Danny Blume (drums, guitar, programming), Chris Kelly (drums, programming) |
2003 | The Sorcerer Sessions | Thirsty Ear | With Evan Ziporyn (clarinets), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), FLAM (synths, programming), Daniel Bernard Roumain (violin) |
2004 | The Trio Plays Ware | Splasc(h) | Trio with William Parker (bass), Guillermo E. Brown (drums) |
2004 | Harmony and Abyss | Thirsty Ear | With William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), FLAM (synths, drums programming) |
2005 | In Finland | Cadence Jazz | Trio with Joe McPhee (soprano sax, trumpet), Dominic Duval (bass) |
2005 | One | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
2006 | Phenomena of Interference | Hopscotch | With Steve Dalachinsky |
2006 | Salute to 100001 Stars – A Tribute to Jean Genet | RogueArt | As the band Declared Enemy; with Sabir Mateen (alto sax, flute, clarinet), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), Denis Lavant (spoken words) |
2007 | Piano Vortex | Thirsty Ear | Trio with Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2007 | Abbey Road Duos | Treader | Duo with Evan Parker (tenor sax, soprano sax) |
2008 | Right Hemisphere | RogueArt | As the band Right Hemisphere; quartet with Rob Brown (alto sax), Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2008 | Un Piano | RogueArt | Solo piano |
2008 | Cosmic Suite | Not Two | Quartet with Daniel Carter (reeds), Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2009 | Harmonic Disorder | Thirsty Ear | Trio with Joe Morris (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2010 | 4D | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
2010 | SAMA | Not Two | Duo with Sabir Mateen (reeds) |
2010 | Creation Out of Nothing (Live in Moscow) | SoLyd | Solo piano |
2011 | Night Logic | RogueArt | Trio with Marshall Allen (alto sax, flute, EVI), Joe Morris (bass) |
2011 | Art of the Improviser | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano and trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2011 | SaMa Live in Moscow | SoLyd | Duo with Sabir Mateen (saxophone) |
2011 | Cosmic Lieder | AUM Fidelity | Duo with Darius Jones (alto sax) |
2011 | Broken Partials | Not Two | Duo with Joe Morris (bass) |
2012 | Elastic Aspects | Thirsty Ear | Trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2012 | Floating Ice | Relative Pitch | Duo with Michael Bisio (bass) |
2013 | Rex, Wrecks & XXX | RogueArt | Duo with Evan Parker (tenor sax) |
2013 | Piano Sutras | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
2014 | Root of Things | Relative Pitch | Trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2014 | The Darkseid Recital | AUM Fidelity | Duo with Darius Jones (alto sax) |
2014 | I've Been to Many Places | Thirsty Ear | Solo piano |
2015 | To Duke | RogueArt | Trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2015 | Live at Okuden | ESP-Disk | As the band The Uppercut; with Mat Walerian (reeds) |
2015 | The Gospel According to Matthew & Michael | Relative Pitch | Chamber Ensemble; trio with Mat Maneri (viola), Michael Bisio (bass) |
2015 | Our Lady of the Flowers | RogueArt | As the band Declared Enemy; quartet with Sabir Mateen (tenor sax, clarinet), William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) |
2015 | The Conduct of Jazz | Thirsty Ear | Trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Newman Taylor Baker (drums) |
2016 | Live in Seattle | Arena Music Promotion | Duo with Michael Bisio (bass) |
2016 | Live at Okuden | ESP-Disk | As the band Jungle; with Mat Walerian (reeds), Hamid Drake (drums) |
2016 | Cactus | Northern Spy | Duo with Bobby Kapp (drums) |
2017 | Piano Song | Thirsty Ear | Trio with Michael Bisio (bass), Newman Taylor Baker (drums) |
2017 | Invisible Touch At Taktlos Zürich | hatOLOGY | Solo piano |
2017 | This Is Beautiful Because We Are Beautiful People | ESP-Disk | As the band Toxic; with Mat Walerian (reeds), William Parker (bass, shakuhachi) |
2017 | Not Bound | Fortune | Quartet with Daniel Carter (reeds), Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
2018 | Accelerated Projection | RogueArt | Duo with Roscoe Mitchell (tenor & soprano sax, flute) |
2018 | Zero | ESP-Disk | Solo piano |
2018 | Sonic Fiction | ESP-Disk | Quartet with Mat Walerian (reeds), Michael Bisio (bass), Whit Dickey (drums) |
As sideman
Release year | Leader | Title | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | David S. Ware | Great Bliss, Vol. 1 | Silkheart |
1991 | David S. Ware | Great Bliss, Vol. 2 | Silkheart |
1992 | David S. Ware | Flight of I | DIW/Columbia |
1993 | David S. Ware | Third Ear Recitation | DIW |
1994 | David S. Ware | Earthquation | DIW |
1995 | David S. Ware | Cryptology | Homestead |
1996 | David S. Ware | Oblations and Blessings | Silkheart |
1996 | David S. Ware | DAO | Homestead |
1996 | David S. Ware | Godspelized | DIW |
1997 | David S. Ware | Wisdom of Uncertainty | AUM Fidelity |
1998 | David S. Ware | Go See the World | Columbia |
2000 | David S. Ware | Surrendered | Columbia |
2001 | David S. Ware | Corridors & Parallels | AUM Fidelity |
2002 | David S. Ware | Freedom Suite | AUM Fidelity |
2003 | David S. Ware | Threads | Thirsty Ear |
2005 | David S. Ware | Live in the World | Thirsty Ear |
2006 | David S. Ware | BalladWare | Thirsty Ear |
2007 | David S. Ware | Renunciation | AUM Fidelity |
2009 | David S. Ware | Live in Vilnius | NoBusiness |
2016 | David S. Ware | Live in Sant'Anna Arresi, 2004 | AUM Fidelity |
1997 | Rob Brown | Blink of an Eye | No More |
1998 | Mat Maneri | So What? | hatOLOGY |
2001 | Whit Dickey | Life Cycle | AUM Fidelity |
2017 | Whit Dickey | Vessel in Orbit | AUM Fidelity |
2004 | El-P | High Water | Thirsty Ear |
1992 | Roscoe Mitchell | This Dance Is for Steve McCall | Black Saint |
1999 | Roscoe Mitchell | Nine to Get Ready | ECM |
2003 | Roscoe Mitchell | The Bad Guys | Around Jazz |
2014 | Jemeel Moondoc | The Zookeeper's House | Relative Pitch |
1996 | Joe Morris | Elsewhere | Homestead |
2000 | Other Dimensions In Music | Time Is of the Essence Is Beyond Time | Homestead |
1996 | Ivo Perelman | Cama de Terra | Homestead |
1997 | Ivo Perelman | Bendito of Santa Cruz | Cadence Jazz |
1999 | Ivo Perelman | Brazilian Watercolour | Leo |
2011 | Ivo Perelman | The Hour of the Star | Leo |
2012 | Ivo Perelman | The Foreign Legion | Leo |
2012 | Ivo Perelman | The Clairvoyant | Leo |
2012 | Ivo Perelman | The Gift | Leo |
2013 | Ivo Perelman | The Edge | Leo |
2013 | Ivo Perelman | The Art of the Duet, Volume One | Leo |
2013 | Ivo Perelman | Enigma | Leo |
2013 | Ivo Perelman | Serendipity | Leo |
2013 | Ivo Perelman | A Violent Dose of Anything | Leo |
2014 | Ivo Perelman | Book of Sound | Leo |
2014 | Ivo Perelman | The Other Edge | Leo |
2015 | Ivo Perelman | Callas | Leo |
2015 | Ivo Perelman | Butterfly Whispers | Leo |
2015 | Ivo Perelman | Complementary Colors | Leo |
2016 | Ivo Perelman | Soul | Leo |
2016 | Ivo Perelman | Corpo | Leo |
2016 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of The Improv Trio Volume 3 | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 1: Titan | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 2: Tarvos | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 3: Pandora | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 4: Hyperion | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 5: Rhea | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 6: Saturn | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | The Art Of Perelman-Shipp Volume 7: Dione | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | Live in Brussels | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | Live in Baltimore | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | Heptagon | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | Scalene | Leo |
2017 | Ivo Perelman | Philosopher's Stone | Leo |
2018 | Ivo Perelman | Oneness | Leo |
Bibliography
- Logos And Language: A Post-Jazz Metaphorical Dialogue[5] (RogueArt, 2008) with Steve Dalachinsky
References
- "Um café Com... Matthew Shipp". YouTube. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- Jurek, Thom. "Art of the Improviser." All Music Guide. February 2011.
- Reich, Howard. "Matthew Shipp at 50." Chicago Tribune. February 2011.
- Layman, Will (September 23, 2013) "Matthew Shipp: Piano Sutras". PopMatters.
- "RogueArt, JAZZ label". Web.roguart.com. Retrieved January 31, 2013.