Matthew Shipp Trio: New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz

  The Matthew Shipp Trio, with Shipp on piano, Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums, has been together for nine years, recording both as a self-contained unit and in quartets with flutist Nicole Mitchell (once) and with tenor saxophonist Rich Halley (three times). New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz is their latest effort, and although the title is reminiscent of classics like Bill Evans’ New Jazz Conceptions (1957) or Stan Kenton’s New Concepts Of Artistry In Rhythm (1952), this freely improvised set is most assuredly music of today. To be more precise, a specific day: August 2, 2023. That’s the day Shipp and company arrived at Park West Studios in Brooklyn to record New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz. It surely would have been at least a little different the day before - or the day after. As producer Steve Holtje writes, “Shipp comes in with a plan sketched out - not compositions, but a roadmap for all the tracks ...” There’s a stark simplicity to the openings of many of the pieces, often with short repeated phrases that develop and evolve through the complex interactions among the players. The overall feeling is ruminative and meditative, with occasional bursts of more feverish playing. As in most long-term relationships, whether personal or musical, Shipp, Bisio and Newman frequently appear to be mind-readers, but they have their little spats as well. The closing piece, Coherent System, is both the longest track (11:39) and also the most uninhibited. Shipp’s busy pianism is matched by Baker’s exuberant attack, as Bisio holds down the center with his usual calm approach. I really loved their previous ESP release, World Construct, and the more time I spend with New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz, the more I delight in its nuances. It’s worth concentrating on each individual player while listening. Shipp’s time sense and use of unexpected silences form the foundation for these explorations. Bisio’s fat sound and unerring sense of the absolutely correct note is always a pleasure. And Baker’s work throughout the set is exceptionally fine, from his exquisite brush work on Sea Song to his assertive duet with Bisio that opens the jittery Non Circle. But it’s the occult alignment of the trio’s sensibilities that truly elevates this set into a gem of the improviser’s art. Absolutely recommended. 

ESP-Disk' ESP5085; Matthew Shipp (p) Michael Bisio (b) Newman Taylor Baker (d); Brooklyn, NY, August 2, 2023; Primal Poem/ Sea Song/ The Function/ Non Circle/ Tone IQ/ Brain System/ Brain Work/ Coherent System; 47:23. www.espdisk.com

Michael Bisio: Inimitable

  The accomplished bassist Michael Bisio writes that he wasn’t entirely certain that Inimitable was a compliment when he was introduced that way at what he describes as a “very public forum of bassists...” But when you consider the passion, chops, and attention to detail that Bisio displays in the many contexts in which he’s performed, it becomes clear that there isn’t really anyone else quite like him. He’s made it the title of his new solo date, released on the Mung Music imprint from Korea, offering nearly an hour of his unadorned sound, finely captured by Brooklyn engineer Jim Clouse. It takes a certain measure of audacity for a bass player to record alone, but it takes an extra dose of chutzpah to start off with a tune like the fifteen minute tour de force Quintessence. With his prodigious imagination and energetic drive on full display, your attention is not likely to fade as the music flies by. Next up is the arco feature New One. It’s Bisio at his most romantic, with its gently flowing melody and carefully nuanced work with the bow. The beguiling Henry’s Tune is an absorbing piece of theme and variations, enhanced by the purity of the deep bass that Bisio employs on the track. Contrast that with what follows, Small Things Interrupted. It’s quite a trip as the intricate and insistent upper register damped strums of what sounds like a prepared bass result in a weird combination of clatter and string noise, like transmissions from another world. Renew One begins with the luxuriant sound of the bowed bass, playing a slow and peaceful melody before he sets down the bow to play a calmly reflective commentary on the theme. John Coltrane’s Wise One gets a respectful exploration from Bisio as he dissects the melody with deep logic and impeccable control. In another abrupt segue, Bisio picks up the bow again for the gnarly and assaultive Hear Now, the shortest piece on the set but the wildest. We’re back to a more soothing atmosphere with the rhapsodic Before Dawn Rising. The album concludes with Bisio’s meditative and entrancing look at the standard I Fall in Love Too Easily, a favorite of improvisers since it was premiered by Frank Sinatra in 1945. Inimitable is a superb showcase for the many stylistic approaches of Michael Bisio, an up-close look that’s really worth investigating. Definitely recommended. 

Mung Music; Michael Bisio (b); Brooklyn, NY, February 22, 2020; Quintessence/ New One/ Henry’s Theme/ Small Things Interrupted/ Renew One/ Wise One/ Hear Now/ Before Dawn Rising/ I Fall in Love Too Easily; 58:05. mungmusic.bandcamp.com

Michael Bisio, Kirk Knuffke & Fred Lonberg-Holm: The Art Spirit

  A trio of peerless improvisers, namely Michael Bisio, Kirk Knuffke & Fred Lonberg-Holm, combine forces for The Art Spirit. Bass, cello and cornet is an unusual and, I believe, unique lineup, but it works here surprisingly well, thanks to the open ears and concentrated listening skills of bassist Bisio, cornetist Knuffke, and cellist Lonberg-Holm. Bisio is the instigator, inspired by the American painter Robert Henri (1865-1929). His r. henri is one of three pieces he composed for this outing. This delicately textured and very moving tribute is one of the CD’s most effective performances. The tune was also a highlight of Now Then by the Tani Tabbal Trio. Knuffke is one of the most imaginative performers around, and he sounds quite at home performing in this setting with two string players. Because Bisio and Lonberg-Holm are equally adept at arco and pizzicato approaches to their instruments, a formidable array of contrasts and conversational strategies opens up. The resulting music ranges from jittery and nervous to smoothly sonorous. Dive right into Not a Souvenir of Yesterday and let the music draw you into their sound world of lightning quick mutual inventions. And good luck trying to figure out what’s composed and what’s improvised in this hour. Not that it matters, as the border between them grows more illusory by the year anyway. Particularly fine in addition to r. henri are the group improvisations Both Keys Belong to You, with anxious strings and inventive cornet solos and the playful Like Your Work As Much As, which features some genuinely gnarly cello work by Lonberg-Holm, an impressively forceful solo by Bisio, and some of the weirdest cornet sounds I’ve ever heard from Knuffke or anyone else. The Art Spirit is clearly flourishing in this fascinating and deeply exploratory music. 

ESP-Disk’ ESP5053; Kirk Knuffke (cnt, soprano cnt) Michael Bisio (b) Fred Lonberg-Holm (clo, elec); Kingston, NY, September 24, 2018; Not a Souvenir of Yesterday/ r. henri/ Both Keys Belong To You/ Use Them/ Orange Moon Yellow Field/ Things Hum/ Like Your Work As Much As/ A Dog Likes to Gnaw a Bone; 61:54. www.espdisk.com