2024 was a very good year for the Matthew Shipp Trio and its album New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk'). It did very well on the Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll, coming in at #7.
The 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll: The Shape of Jazz That Keeps Us Going - The Arts Fuse
Davis himself put it at #4 on his ballot:
The 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll: Now and Then and Then and Now -- A Top Ten List From Its Namesake - The Arts Fuse
https://substack.com/inbox/
History of Music: Best rock albums of 2024
AllMusic Best of 2024 | AllMusic 2024 in Review
Press Quotes
“Shipp is a titan, the name in free piano improvisation now
that Cecil Taylor is gone, and the speed and agility of his thinking is so
great that what comes out of his hands is graceful, light-footed. The past few
years, he sounds like he’s recreating his style anew every time he plays,
mercurial while also purposeful, with a clear direction. He doesn’t follow
gravity or the path of least resistance, he makes his own laws of musical
physics as he goes along.”—George Grella, Star Revue
https://www.star-revue.com/jazz-vision-festival-2024-by-george-grella
“Shipp’s trio with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman
Taylor Baker delivers some of the most audacious free swing you’ll ever hear,
and on this disc, they add elements of modern classical to create something
that lives up to that brash title. Astonishing stuff.”—Phil Freeman, Burning
Ambulance
Half-Year
Roundup - Burning Ambulance (substack.com)
“A glance at pianist Matthew Shipp’s discography reveals that one of the prime outlets for his artistry is his classic piano trio, which ranks among the pre-eminent units in modern jazz. That’s down to the principal and his choice of simpatico partners. Shipp in full flow is unmistakable—a unique stylist who propounds a memorable mix of infectious motifs, glittering runs and stomping bass register.”—John Sharpe, New York City Jazz Record
“Shipp knows his history, evidenced by the wink-and-nod
title of his newest recording with Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker, New
Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz. After all, it was Bill Evans’ New
Jazz Conceptions that established the template for the modern jazz
piano trio, one reliant on pace and variety of materials to keep both newbies
and old hands engaged. Shipp turns the formula on its head with a program of
eight tracks, all but one of which are seven minutes or substantially less.
Whereas Evans emphasized reengineered chestnuts, garnished with originals,
Shipp dives deep, opening with the somber, succinct “Primal Poem” instead of a
light-hearted swinger. It takes almost 30 seconds for Baker’s brushes to become
audible on the succeeding “Sea Song,” another swim through subtly turned
phrases, this time with a slowly rising tide of intensity. Almost ten minutes
into the program, Bisio kicks off “The Function” with a sturdy walking line;
however, Shipp counters with off-center phrasing, pugnacious jabs, and
scampering lines, while Baker resourcefully fills in the margins, offsetting
the impetus to swing conventionally. The remainder of the albums has a similar,
muted contrarian tilt until the 11-minute “Coherent System,” which closes the
proceedings with house-shaking intensity, tipping the listener to the nature of
Shipp’s new concept: make a complete, album-length statement that is far afield
from the quotidian.”—Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure
https://pointofdeparture.org/PoD87/PoD87MoreMoments3.html
"’Non Circle’ and ‘Brain System’ sound like the Trio
invented their own keys for Shipp’s sketches."—Michael Toland, The Big
Takeover
Matthew Shipp Trio - New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz
(ESP-Disk') | The Big Takeover
“Matthew Shipp remains uncategorizable. He and his
collaborators work almost entirely spontaneously, without written compositions,
but his recordings also seem increasingly well-structured and beautiful. This
trio, with bassist Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker on drums, has been
working together for some time, so their collective language is highly
coordinated. They are fluent in quickly discovering a vibe, tonal center, and
focus, even when there is no written theme. But this collection is exceptionally
telepathic, even by Shipp’s elevated standards.”—Will Layman, Pop Matters
JazzMatters:
The Best Jazz of March-May 2024 (popmatters.com)
“No one writes or plays like Matthew Shipp. His music
has a mind of its own—and what a mind—and Shipp deserves to have the title
Sui Generis precede his name or maybe follow it thusly: Matthew Shipp,
S.G. New Concepts takes modern jazz to invigorating levels of
excitement, intensity, and joy.”—Mel Minter, Musically Speaking
3 X 2 = Wow |
Musically Speaking (melminter.com)
"On this new CD...Shipp and his longtime bandmates,
bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker, really have come up with
new approaches to their music. ...it has a relentless forward momentum with the
intensity and repetitiveness of Steve Reich at some points, and the simmering
intensity of Morton Feldman at others. ... It’s jazz, but jazz of a
uniquely pugnacious and forceful type that acknowledges tradition without any
loyalty or subservience."—Phil Freeman (again!), Stereogum
https://www.stereogum.com/2260606/kenny-garrett-vs-ai/columns/ugly-beauty/
“Matthew Shipp Trio further elevate their group
communication and collective vision on the surprisingly un-hyperbolically
titled New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz.” 4-1/2 stars—Fred Thomas, All
Music Guide
New
Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz - Matthew Ship... | AllMusic
“New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz, by Matthew Shipp
with Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker, lives up to its title, holding
concert-music poise with improvisatory liberty and interpersonal chemistry in a
balance that extends and expands the leader’s signature conception. Shipp’s
prolificacy can be daunting; consider this one essential.”—Steve Smith, Night
After Night
https://nightafternight.substack.com/p/for-the-record-april-5-2024
“In the accompanying notes to the CD, Matthew Shipp makes
the claim that this album is ‘one of the greatest trio albums.' Is he
justified? I think he is, certainly in the area of jazz piano trios: this is a
really fine album of piano trio music that stands comparison with the best. … I
don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this is an album of great beauty
that is state of the art in terms of the possibilities of the jazz piano
trio.”—Tony Dudley-Evans, London Jazz News
https://londonjazznews.com/2024/04/08/matthew-shipp-new-concepts-in-piano-trio-jazz
“...signs and symbols (in the form of phrases and clusters)
are restated, sometimes refracted, and often echoed through Bisio’s bass and
Baker’s percussive drumming. It’s a bold and emotionally riveting piano trio
album, surely one of the finest you’ll hear all year.”—Lee Rice Epstein, The
Free Jazz Collective
freejazzblog.org/2024/04/matthew-shipp-trio-new-concepts-in.html
“This trio has clearly swapped some of the most traditional
roles. Thunder comes more often from the piano than the drums. The bassist is
just as likely to command the melody as the pianist. Democracy
reigns supreme throughout. It’s not two supporting the leader, it’s each one
supporting the other in a heady listen that leaves us guessing practically the
whole way through. It’s free, yet conceptual and eminently purposeful as
well.”—Jim Hynes, Making a Scene
makingascene.org/matthew-shipp-trio-new-concepts-in-piano-trio-jazz
"Shipp's New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz is
approaching a revelation and may just be the best starting place for those who
have never had the opportunity to hear this trio."
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-concepts-in-piano-trio-jazz-matthew-shipp-esp-disk
"...it’s the occult alignment of the trio’s
sensibilities that truly elevates this set into a gem of the improviser’s
art."
Mr. Stu's Record Room: Matthew Shipp Trio: New Concepts In
Piano Trio Jazz (mrstusrecordroom.blogspot.com)
“the Matthew Shipp Trio has sought — and succeeded — in
taking a conventional setting to unconventional heights, and New
Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz has attained a new height in this
long-running quest.”—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!
Matthew
Shipp Trio - 'New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz' (2024) - Something Else!
(somethingelsereviews.com)
“New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz allows Shipp to
move his personal linguistic discipline from its origins through classical
influences and into his ever-expanding universe.”—Karl Ackerman, All About Jazz
Matthew
Shipp Trio: New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz album review @ All About Jazz
“Clearly, this is an avant-garde jazz album that has
across-the spectrum appeal. The music sounds through-composed, almost like some
modern classical music, yet every bit of it was improvised on the spot.”—Lynn
Rene Bayley, The Art Music Lounge
Matthew
Shipp’s “New Concepts” Album | THE ART MUSIC LOUNGE (wordpress.com)
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