Matthew Shipp Quartet: Matthew Shipp (piano); Roy Campbell (trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn); William Parker (bass); Gerald Cleaver (drums).
Recorded at Seltzer Sound, New York, New York on January 6, 2000. Includes liner notes by Matthew Shipp.
Composer: Matthew Shipp.
Personnel: Matthew Shipp (piano); Roy Campbell, Jr. (trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn); William Parker (upright bass); Gerald Cleaver (drums).
Recording information: Seltzer Sound in New York (01/06/2000); Seltzer Sound; NY, NY (01/06/2000).
You have to wonder what the deal is with Matthew Shipp. Barely a year after his "retirement" from recording, he turns around and releases a new disc. And it's a fine one, at that. For those who found Shipp's previous recording, the dense and challenging DNA, to be exactly those things, the opening tracks of PASTORAL COMPOSURE may sound like ear candy by comparison. But this is not corporate, lounge-in-a-hot tub lite-and-predigested jazz. This is real music with real heart. Throughout this great recording, Shipp gives a nod to the past and keeps an eye on the future.
"Visions," a light and breezy minor-key blues, is followed by a terrific working of Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss." The beautiful title track is played in free time, but it's not a free-for-all. That gambit is saved for "Frere Jacques," where the Quartet throws Brother John out the window. Well, that's one way to wake up the poor guy. Shipp's monk-like-and Monk-like-dedication to his art gives this music its underlying warmth. COMPOSURE does feature a few of the freewheeling atonal excursions one has come to expect from Shipp, but here they serve to round off a wonderful and satisfying set.
Professional Reviews
CMJ (1/08/01, p.19) - Included in CMJ's "Best of the Year" for 2000.
CMJ (4/17/00, p.3) - "...An exquisite listen and a welcome surprise to anyone that thought they knew what these musicians were all about."
Down Beat (10/00, p.79) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A solid, accessible introduction this prolific pianist....[he] calls it his 'easy-listening' album..."
JazzTimes (6/00, pp.104-6) - "...People will be surprised at how naturally 'in' some of [the album] is....Shipp slyly drops bombs of low-end tone clusters and nervy melodic turnarounds....whether it is for sheer pleasure or propaganda, the results are ultimately rewarding."
