bigtakeover.com/recordings/MatthewShippTrioWorldConstructESPDisk
Matthew Shipp Trio - World Construct (ESP-Disk’)
Whenever Matthew Shipp’s name comes up on print, usually the next word, or prior word, or the word that pops out in the next sentence, is genius. What is it about the pianist and composer that earns him that sobriquet, which appears in nearly every article or review written about him? For this writer, it comes down to this: he is able to stretch a song’s arrangement to the limit, right up to the breaking point, sometimes beyond – yet he never loses sight of the tune, the whole raison d’être of a performance in the first place. Whether he’s playing a piece written years ago or one written in the moment, Shipp always remembers the melody, even as he molds, squeezes or crops it into near-unrecognizable shape. On World Construct, his umpteenth album in a career so prolific there’s no point counting, the jazz giant is in top form with his latest trio.
Part of Shipp’s success can be attributed to his way of leading a band – he knows who to pick that understands his vision. Bassist Michael Bisio, a formidable leader in his own right, has played with Shipp for decades, while drummer Newman Taylor Baker is the new kid at only five years of service. Both musicians seem to have spawned to accompany the pianist, so closely aligned to his aesthetic do they seem. The wittily titled “Jazz Posture” shows off their chemistry to fine effect: Bisio and Baker begin the track with what sounds like free playing, bouncing the beat off the walls, before Shipp comes in, slowly reigning his players in, before taking off to the stratosphere himself. Oddly enough, once all three members follow their muse, they lock into an unspoken groove, bringing in a surprisingly accessibility despite everyone ostensibly in unfettered mode. Again, that’s the brilliance of Shipp’s world – creativity sparks chaos, chaos begets order, and it’s all shaken down until it sings.
That’s not to say Shipp doesn’t indulge in a nice bit of pandemonium from time to time – check out “Abandoned” or Spine,” though even those find a through line eventually – usually when the pianist introduces a melody, no matter how angular. But he and his cohorts are more likely to poke around in the corners of a tune, kicking up the dust and seeing what colors are underneath, than take a sledgehammer to the walls. Check out “A Mysterious State” or “Beyond Understanding,” songs that invite contemplation even as the volume level rises, songs to get lost in as the musicians examine their inner workings. When things get too heavy, the trio also explores pure beauty, as on “Stop the World,” on which Bisio matches his boss for lyricism, or the luminous “Sustained Construct.” They also bend jazz traditionalism to their own purposes, as with the Big Easy-spiced “Sly Glance.”
Shipp ends the record with the title track, a ten-minute adventure which features the rhythm section sticking closer to the rhythm than normal, which allows the leader to ripple the notes in whichever direction he fancies at the moment, pulling them back in, shooting them out in another direction, and never losing sight of the melodic message he’s trying to convey. Because that’s what he does – challenges his sidefolk and audience with playing that threatens to disintegrate, but never does. Shipp composes tunes meant to be explored as much as performed, and World Construct unequivocally, inevitably, brings that idea home.
npr.org/sections/now-playing/2022/07/07/1110242926/matthew-shipp-trio-world-construct
Matthew Shipp Trio, 'World Construct'
Whether through reverence, indoctrination or rote lip service, much is said about the tradition of jazz. In the impressively vast and challenging body of work of NYC-based pianist-composer Matthew Shipp, that tradition remains a crackling, sentient consciousness. The title piece from his latest trio release, "World Construct," is a live-feed experience of Shipp and regular allies, bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker, allowing the music to rise and fall at its own accord. Following an elegiac solo-piano intro, Shipp gradually coaxes, nudges and then releases the rhythm section. Bisio and Baker then return, the trio running through manic changes, ending the performance with an emotional closer that evokes the whispered, conversational early-'60s interplay of pianist Jaki Byard and bassist Charles Mingus.
For fans of Shipp and improvisation, "World Construct" is received as a gift of intimacy and connection that provokes us and stays firmly in the mind, challenging the listener to ultimately give it purchase into one's heart and soul.
jazztrail.net/blog/matthew-shipp-trio-world-construct-album-review
MATTHEW SHIPP TRIO - WORLD CONSTRUCT
Label: ESP-Disk, 2022
Personnel - Matthew Shipp: piano; Michael Bisio: bass; Newman Taylor Baker: drums.
The fabulous trio of pianist Matthew Shipp, a creative force with incessant grand concepts in mind, returns with World Construct, a collection of 11 tracks whose diverse moods and sounds take you on a well-sequenced musical journey. To say that Shipp has been busy is an understatement since his collaborations are numerous. However, he has built a very particular and special sound world with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker that we rarely see in other groups.
The album's opener, “Tangible”, is true to its title and focused on a graspable groove with a colorful piano display that would serve a hip-hop tune. Shipp patiently builds “Sustained Construct” as a solo piano segment that guides us into “Spine”, a controlled abstraction that feels more mournful than cheerful. The occasional pounding pedals and supple bass figures are replaced by distorted shapes on “Jazz Posture”, a lively and searing explosion of rhythmic fluxes. Baker concludes this energetic tidal rubato with a dynamic drum dissertation.
Another piece that finds the trio in an agitated state of despair is “Abandoned”. It’s confrontational, oblique in movement, opaque in spirit, always powerful. It doesn’t have the beauty of “Stop the World”, a pensive modal piano-bass duet that, from the first minute, turns the spotlight to Bisio.
The listening grows into a crescendo, and the last tracks develop with skill and passion. “A Mysterious State” alternates the time feel between quadruple and triple, strutting all along with snare drum rolls, arcane harmonies, and serpentine melodies. The genius harmonic chops of the pianist move forward and reach the final part of “Sly Glance”, whose supreme jazz vibe makes it the coolest track of the album.
The three musicians use their masterful understanding of sound and timbre to combine several ideas spontaneously and form complex passages right through “World Construct”, the closing piece, which, at more than 10 minutes, is the longest ride of the set. The Matthew Shipp Trio remains in top form, and World Construct is highly recommended.
Favorite Tracks:
09 - Stop the World ► 10 - Sly Glance ► 11 - World Construct
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