Matthew Shipp: A Solo Piano Concert at Barking Legs Theater

"To stand out in the jazz world, having chops is not enough. Certain musicians have playing styles that are so distinctive that they can be easily recognizable on any record, in any setting. On the piano, Thelonious Monk distinguished himself with an unusual swing and by deliberately sounding accidental, and Cecil Taylor is known for a wild, highly unconventional, percussive playing style. Today, Matthew Shipp deserves a place in the pantheon of distinctive, instantly recognizable jazz pianists, with a complex, compelling and memorable style that stands apart from his predecessors. Describing it is a challenge—it’s a complicated, nontraditional approach that is forceful, with a calculated delivery, while sounding spontaneously unpredictable; at times it’s explosive, with a sense of conviction, while other moments use dissonance and disorder.

Shipp’s latest album, Art of the Improviser, is a superb double-disc set that captures two live performances from 2010, and it can serve well as an introduction. The first disc features Shipp’s trio, erupting with the opener “The New Fact,” which starts with its main theme before furiously and enthusiastically diving into improv sections, including an extended unaccompanied solo from bassist Michael Bisio that’s relentless and driving. Drummer Whit Dickey gets his own solo on the second half of “3 in 1,” not holding back with a pummeling, volatile approach.

On “Circular Temple #1,” Shipp scampers delicately over the keys, contrasting with his typically muscular playing and even plucking a few strings inside the piano; it’s followed by the standard “Take the A Train,” presented with a highly erratic style, with multiple transitions leading the listener to an unexpected destination. Similarly uncertain is “Fly Me to the Moon,” covered on the second disc—a solo set—with Shipp impatiently rushing through the head, into prickly and inventive improv segments. The composition “Wholetone” has distinct sections, alternating between the grandiose and the whimsical, and the album ends with “Patmos,” using brisk, shimmering improv passages that demonstrate Shipp’s adept quickness, both of the mental and physical kind."

Ernie Paik Chattanooga Pulse.

$15 adv/$17 door, $10 students (door only)

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