Elastic Aspects

MATTHEW SHIPP: Elastic Aspects
Thirsty Ear, 2012

AVANT-GARDE – Another very strong acoustic trio outing from Shipp, who as always follows his own path. This suite is dark-hued and brooding, nodding to the jazz tradition even as it dives into seemingly bottomless complexity or sparkles with crystalline abstraction.

Matthew Shipp : piano
Michael Bisio : bass
Whit Dickey : drums

All impressive. Fo’s Picks: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12

1. 2:18 – very slow bowed bass & distant, atmospheric percussion
2. 0:27 – solo piano reflection
3. 4:46 – quirky swing falls in and out of dense tangles; piano in knots
4. 3:51 – solo piano, bright and abstract, fractured melodies run high, low
5. 1:29 – big ragged, rasping bass; drums barely suggest a groove
6. 3:12 – piano moves in complex zigzags, quietly free drum/bass backing
7. 3:18 – heavy, crushing piano; thick, scurrying bass; drums react to piano
8. 5:30 – bright & melodic, but in a distracted way; gets stuck in loops
9. 5:08 – solo bass, bowed and brooding, sawing and sighing
10. 3:11 – brisk bass stroll with ringing prepared piano, minimal drums
11. 3:23 – solo piano chases its tail, meanders, digs
12. 4:29 – thick, sluggish flow: cerebral piano runs free over calm backing
13. 7:36 – rises up into a chugging, crushing dynamo; falls back occasionally

[ Fo ] - March 2012