Coming off the triumph of their 2022 set
World Construct,
Matthew Shipp Trio further elevate their group communication and collective vision on the surprisingly un-hyperbolically titled
New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz. This long-running iteration of
Shipp's trio includes
Michael Bisio on bass and
Newman Taylor Baker on drums, locked in with each other's playing in a way that goes beyond the groove of familiarity into a kind of interplay that pushes each individual further. The eight pieces here (tracked on August 2, 2023, at Park West Studios in Brooklyn) balance improvisation and composition in a way that erases the line between the two. This is especially true of moments like "The Function," a song led by
Bisio's walking bass line that at first suggests a traditional jazz saunter, slowly introducing
Shipp's clustered chords and
Baker's spare percussion before growing into a rolling mass of unmapped expression as the tune builds over its seven minutes. "Non Circle" is similarly striking, starting out somewhat conversationally but reaching a symbiotic thrum that all three players hold masterfully for the duration of the piece. In lesser hands, a performance so driving might devolve into the instrumental equivalent of everyone shouting at the top of their lungs at once, but the trio maintains a deeper dynamic that's perfectly dialed in. A few shorter pieces follow: the somber and minimal "Tone IQ," the bass-focused "Brain System," and the
Shipp solo on the piano-only "Brain Work."
New Concepts concludes with the nearly 12-minute "Coherent System," a journey through melancholy, disenchantment, and urgency that feels like a beautiful storm and continues the same controlled simmer that the trio mints throughout this profound album. ~ Fred Thomas
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