1.Instinctive Touch
2.The Conduct of Jazz
3.Ball in Space
4.Primary Form
5.Blue Abyss
6.Stream of Light
7.The Bridge Across

Matthew Shipp – piano
Michael Bisio – bass
Newman Taylor Baker – drums

One of today's foremost pianists, Matthew Shipp has demonstrated the breadth of his artistry in numerous settings over his three decade career, including genre-defying electro-acoustic experiments. Recent years have found him narrowing his focus to concentrate on intimate acoustic efforts however, especially in one of the jazz tradition's most venerable formats—the classic piano trio.

The Conduct of Jazz is the fifth trio recording to feature Michael Bisio as Shipp's principal bassist since 2011's The Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear), and the first to include the legendary Newman Taylor Baker in place of longstanding drummer Whit Dickey. In contrast to Dickey's abstract tendencies, Baker brings a more conventionally structured approach to the proceedings, with a protean technique informed by years of experience working with luminaries like Billy Harper, Diedre Murray and Henry Threadgill.

A singular stylist, Shipp's urbane writing often evinces a dark, foreboding quality, alternating brooding ambience with tempestuous swing. The group subsequently covers a vast dynamic range, demonstrating its improvisational mettle in episodes that veer from impressionistic neo-classical reflections to fervent bop-inflected explorations.

"Instinctive Touch" opens the album like a furtive fanfare, the unit extrapolating the tune's oblique melody with pointed focus. The angular title track ventures further into vanguard territory as Shipp's bristling cadences ascend into feverish mantras buoyed by Bisio and Baker's modulating undercurrent. "Blue Abyss" grooves hard in contrast, while the episodic tour de force "The Bridge Across" concludes the program in dramatic fashion, regaling with blistering call and response interplay that is both adventurous and accessible.

Bisio's robust tone and Baker's vivacious trap set work are featured prominently, with the bassist's sinewy arco harmonics introducing "Ball in Space" alone, while "Primary Form" is dominated by the drummer's thunderous percussion volleys. Bisio and Baker share an uncanny conversational rapport with Shipp; their cubistic dialogue blurs the lines between accompanist and soloist, exponentially expanding the rhythm section's role in the process.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of the session spotlights the leader, whose tortuous cadences ebb and flow with their own idiosyncratic logic, whether transposing minimalist motifs into hypnotic ostinatos or negotiating labyrinthine detours with deft precision. From abstract expressionism to bluesy introspection, every facet of Shipp's artistry is on display—even romantic allusions materialize on the lyrical piano soliloquy "Stream of Light." Bolstered by the exemplary contributions of his distinguished colleagues, The Conduct of Jazz offers irrefutable proof of Shipp's enduring mastery of the jazz idiom. ---Troy Collins, allaboutjazz.com

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Disc 1:
1. The New Fact 12:27
2. 3 in 1 9:14
3. Circular Temple #1 16:01
4. Take the A Train 7:44
5. Virgin Complex 6:48

Disc 2:
1. 4D 5:38
2. Fly Me to the Moon 5:11			play
3. Wholetone 8:03
4. Module 7:52
5. Gamma Ray 7:23
6. Patmos 4:49						play

Personnel: 
Matthew Shipp: piano; 
Michael Bisio: bass (CD1); 
Whit Dickey: drums (CD2).

By now, critical listeners have formed an opinion about the music of pianist Matthew Shipp. Like his musical predecessors Cecil Taylor and Thelonious Monk, Shipp is an uncompromising voice that tends to force listeners to queue up in line, either for him or against him. With the release of The Art Of The Improviser, he has essentially summed up his first fifty years on two CDs of resolute and committed music.

Like his previous 4D (Thirsty Ear, 2010), Shipp presents a solo recording of original compositions and one standard ("Fly Me To The Moon"), but this time adds a second disc with his new trio (since 2009), featuring bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey.

The first disc presents Shipp's trio, recorded live in Troy, NY in April, 2010. The five lengthy tracks act as a summation of his career so far, pulling music from previous releases as far back as Critical Mass (213CD, 1995) and The Multiplication Table (hatOLOGY, 1997), some of which he reworked on the more recent Harmony And Abyss (Thirsty Ear, 2004). Shipp often works with big themes; here he commands a steady swinging groove on "The New Fact," while trickling his two-handed improvisational explorations. By returning to the theme, he allows the audience to follow his logic. Likewise when he takes on a monument like "Take The 'A' Train," his dissection is not unlike a DJ's collage of sounds, where snatches of the familiar melody flash by, as if trying to read graffiti on a passing boxcar. The trio also pursues his early classic composition, "Circular Temple," with a reverence for the open chamber free piece, plotting a persistent course of freedom with as much confidence as the younger Shipp demonstrated when he first recorded it.

The solo CD delivers some very inspired music-making, a reminder that the language Shipp he has invented can be subtle and achingly beautiful ("4D") or dense and very dark ("Wholetone"). "Wholetone" progresses as if Shipp is juggling disparate objects: his left hand, pounding dense chords; his right, gamboling. This yin and yang approach makes for a dynamic sound, and showcases Shipp's passion for the music. Tracks such as "Gamma Ray" play with a recurring theme, not unlike a show tune, tethering his explorations of freedom with melody.

Regardless of the approach, Shipp's playing—with or without a net—will be detested by detractors and praised by advocates, making The Art of the Improviser one of his best performances on disc. ---Mark Corroto, allaboutjazz.com

Once dismissed as a Cecil Taylor imitator because of his jagged, percussive attack, pianist Matthew Shipp has gone on to distinguish himself as a true original, incorporating not only the history of jazz piano but also the hypnotic repetition of minimalism. He is an "idea man", but not merely a musical intellectual – his music offers challenges aplenty while demonstrating wit and passion.

This double disc of live recordings features a trio date at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY and a program of solo piano recital at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. On disc one, Shipp is joined by Whit Dickey on drums and bassist Michael Bisio, who is given generous solo space on several tracks. The New Fact begins with a rumbling modal vamp reminiscent of McCoy Tyner, which develops into a nice display of improvisational virtuosity, synthesizing the harmonic language of Tyner and Taylor, as well as Herbie Hancock. The fleet-fingered and pitch-perfect Bisio ends the piece with an absolutely jaw-dropping solo.

Circular Temple, the longest piece in the program, starts with some pensive musing from Shipp and a nice bit of arco bass from Bisio. Eventually, Shipp fastens onto another hypnotic vamp and accelerates into an impressive extended solo which demonstrates total mastery of his instrument. This piece slides right into the one standard here, Billy Strayhorn’s Take the A Train – in Shipp’s hands, a crashing, percussive tour de force. Once again, the pianist does not adopt the standard practice of abandoning the melody after 30 seconds or so – instead, he dissects, examines and reconstructs the melody to excellent effect.

The six solo piano tracks on the second disc also run into each other without pause, forming a single extended improvisation which allows Shipp to carry patterns and dynamics from one piece to the next. An amusing deconstruction and reconstruction of the old lounge-jazz chestnut Fly Me to the Moon is the only non-original, which offers further illustration of Shipp’s improvisational magic. Not surprisingly, this is a more demanding program than that of the trio disc, and although Shipp is not adverse to the occasional rhythmic groove, the solo music is often closer to modern classical than to jazz. Not that this is a bad thing, but be warned: you’re not going to hear many standard blues changes or easily assimilated Broadway show tunes here. ---Bill Tilland, bbc.co.uk

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