StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Matthew Shipp

Today, StLJN's video spotlight is focused on pianist Matthew Shipp, who will be performing a solo concert presented by New Music Circle and Washington University on Friday, January 24 at 560 Music Center.

Shipp also will present an "artist talk" that will be free and open to the public at 3:00 p.m. that Friday in room 102 of the Music Classroom Building on the Wash U campus.

With a distinctive style that defies easy comparisons, Shipp has said he sees his playing as part of the "black mystery school" of pianists, led by Thelonious Monk and including other singular talents such as Mal Waldron, Randy Weston, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, and Andrew Hill.

Since moving to New York in mid-80s, Shipp has been credited as leader or co-leader on nearly 70 recordings, playing solo; with a trio; in duos with bassist William Parker, saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Evan Parker, and others; and in larger groupings including stellar players such as trumpeters Wadada Leo Smith and Roy Campbell and saxophonist Marshall Allen. Shipp also forged enduring partnerships with two saxophonists, the late David S. Ware and Ivo Perelman, recording 20 albums with the former and, to date, more than 30 with the latter.

The last time Shipp was here in St. Louis, in March 2015, he performed with bassist Michael Bisio at The Stage at KDHX. This time, he'll be playing solo, and so today's post features several videos of his solo work, starting up above with a set recorded in September 2018 at Zurcher Gallery in New York City.

After the jump, there are four more sets of solo piano by Shipp in reverse chronological order, starting with one from April 2018 at a venue called Kaleidophon in Ulrichsberg, Austria, followed by another from November 2017 recorded at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Then, there's a set from August 2015 at Jazzfestival Saalfelden in Austria, and one from February 2014 recorded at Cafe Oto in London.

The final video shows Shipp playing a duo set with his frequent collaborator, bassist William Parker, in June 2019 during the 24th annual 24th Vision Festival at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn, NY.

For more about Matthew Shipp, read his interview from May 2019 with Jazz Times, and his 2018 conversations with DownBeat and JazzTrail.net.

You can see the rest of today's videos after the jump...