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