Matthew Shipp Music

Roscoe Mitchell continues to be an astounding post-Coltrane sax player on this album with pianist Matthew Shipp. Some of the improvisations often remind me of Xenakis's more pointilistic sound mass compositions. Both musicians create swirling, dense textures which emerge organically from the sum total of their lines. Very nice and thick. On other tracks, there is a more subdued feel and a thinner texture, reminiscent of Webern. Quiet and slow done very nicely.

Mr. Mitchell seems to have the upper hand on the younger Mr. Shipp in terms of technique. While Mr. Shipp can create quick lines and dense textures, I think he could stand to alter his tone color and dynamic level more often than he does. In the end, though, this doesn't hurt this album too much.

I have to start this review by noting M.Sayyid and Earl Blaize's abscence on this release. High Priest and Beans foot the Antipop's bill here, which in no way dissappoints, but shows a noticeable difference in the directions this group is moving. And possibly indicates Blaize n' Sayyid are working on their own concoction to bomb the Hiphop World with....?
Matthew Shipp is a great musician for these MCs to collaborate with. Shipp's band packs a tight backbone-consisting of upright bass, drums, vibes, trumpet and flute. Shipp's piano progressions switch from sounding Far-Eastern-ish to 40s-50s swing-ish, but when Priest gets out the Moog synth on 'SVP'(trk5) it makes for a wild journey. Shipp punches out a repetitive, eerie but catchy, pattern on the ivories while Priest creates a bassline out of crooked drops and squirts, eventually meshing into a beautiful harmony. 'Staph'(trk 2) is reminiscent of the Roots earlier Illadelph style, and Beans breaks it down, staying right in time with the kick drum.
This(10 trk,60min.)album truly serves as a fat hold-over installment for any Antipop Consortium fan who can't wait till March for Beans solo album to pop, and if you're reading this after such time; this album is worth buying for the affore-mentioned 'SVP' and 'Coda'trk6 alone. 'Coda' is one of the best Priest songs I've heard to date(and I own many,mind you, 12" incld). I don't believe Shipp even contributes on this track, so it's full force, pure produced Antipop. Look for the rest of the crew's solo efforts, too. These are the pioneers of the soundtrack to the inevitible crumbling of the now-present-bling-culture that seems to infest every aspect of Hollywood(and the Music Industry).

I was not familiar with Matthew Shipp when I picked up this record... I'm a big Anti-Pop fan. The idea of a collaboration between a hip-hop group and a jazz pianist sounded really great-- and honestly, the results of that idea sound even greater. The album is like a giant struggle with, or dialogue with, the conventions of loops and 4/4 rhythm. The instrumentation is simply amazing, and so is the emceeing, and so is the beat programming/synthetic contribution... everyone involved in this project was really willing to drop their pants a bit and see what happens. The result is a highly diverse recording that dances around all classification and expectation. Not all of it sounds tight, but it's tight enough. I've listened to it about ten times now and I still can't get over how well the Anti-Pop Consortium is sticking faithfully to the concept its name implies. Fans of abstract and underground hip hop who are looking to see how the envelope is being pushed should definitely pick this up.

Anyone who knows the music of Matthew Shipp; knows what a creative and talented Musician he truely is. Matthew has always been associated with "Free-Jazz" and the "Avant-Garde". With this new CD,which I feel is a groundbreaking work; it still fits into those categories,but with a new twist. I can honestly say that I have never been a fan of Rap/Hip-Hop Music; and this is not your typical Hip-Hop CD. The Rappers on this CD convey "Positive" messages without any profanity or perversion. They remind me of the old recordings from Gil Scott-Heron. The Rap/Messages are done with a seriuosness that is much needed in this Genre of Music. What is also great,is that the music is being played with "Real" Musicians. Most of the tracks do contain Rap/Vocals, and a few instrumental tracks as well. I highly recommend this CD to Fans of Rap/Hip-Hop and Jazz to realize that there is something "Powerful" and "Positive" that can come out of creating Music from the "Soul".

I have to start this review by noting M.Sayyid and Earl Blaize's abscence on this release. High Priest and Beans foot the Antipop's bill here, which in no way dissappoints, but shows a noticeable difference in the directions this group is moving. And possibly indicates Blaize n' Sayyid are working on their own concoction to bomb the Hiphop World with....?
Matthew Shipp is a great musician for these MCs to collaborate with. Shipp's band packs a tight backbone-consisting of upright bass, drums, vibes, trumpet and flute. Shipp's piano progressions switch from sounding Far-Eastern-ish to 40s-50s swing-ish, but when Priest gets out the Moog synth on 'SVP'(trk5) it makes for a wild journey. Shipp punches out a repetitive, eerie but catchy, pattern on the ivories while Priest creates a bassline out of crooked drops and squirts, eventually meshing into a beautiful harmony. 'Staph'(trk 2) is reminiscent of the Roots earlier Illadelph style, and Beans breaks it down, staying right in time with the kick drum.
This(10 trk,60min.)album truly serves as a fat hold-over installment for any Antipop Consortium fan who can't wait till March for Beans solo album to pop, and if you're reading this after such time; this album is worth buying for the affore-mentioned 'SVP' and 'Coda'trk6 alone. 'Coda' is one of the best Priest songs I've heard to date(and I own many,mind you, 12" incld). I don't believe Shipp even contributes on this track, so it's full force, pure produced Antipop. Look for the rest of the crew's solo efforts, too. These are the pioneers of the soundtrack to the inevitible crumbling of the now-present-bling-culture that seems to infest every aspect of Hollywood(and the Music Industry).

I was not familiar with Matthew Shipp when I picked up this record... I'm a big Anti-Pop fan. The idea of a collaboration between a hip-hop group and a jazz pianist sounded really great-- and honestly, the results of that idea sound even greater. The album is like a giant struggle with, or dialogue with, the conventions of loops and 4/4 rhythm. The instrumentation is simply amazing, and so is the emceeing, and so is the beat programming/synthetic contribution... everyone involved in this project was really willing to drop their pants a bit and see what happens. The result is a highly diverse recording that dances around all classification and expectation. Not all of it sounds tight, but it's tight enough. I've listened to it about ten times now and I still can't get over how well the Anti-Pop Consortium is sticking faithfully to the concept its name implies. Fans of abstract and underground hip hop who are looking to see how the envelope is being pushed should definitely pick this up.

Anyone who knows the music of Matthew Shipp; knows what a creative and talented Musician he truely is. Matthew has always been associated with "Free-Jazz" and the "Avant-Garde". With this new CD,which I feel is a groundbreaking work; it still fits into those categories,but with a new twist. I can honestly say that I have never been a fan of Rap/Hip-Hop Music; and this is not your typical Hip-Hop CD. The Rappers on this CD convey "Positive" messages without any profanity or perversion. They remind me of the old recordings from Gil Scott-Heron. The Rap/Messages are done with a seriuosness that is much needed in this Genre of Music. What is also great,is that the music is being played with "Real" Musicians. Most of the tracks do contain Rap/Vocals, and a few instrumental tracks as well. I highly recommend this CD to Fans of Rap/Hip-Hop and Jazz to realize that there is something "Powerful" and "Positive" that can come out of creating Music from the "Soul".

I wish I'd have seen the last guy's review, I wouldn't have bought this. It's just a bunch of sound effects and computer noises. No music, not easy to listen to, in fact it's really kind of irritating. Maybe his other stuff is better, but don't get this one. The extra star is just in case he was in a slump during this album. Everyone else seems to like it.

. . . acoustic, edgy, mysterious, chamber-jazzlike. "Pulsar," the opening number, tips his hand. Deveptively simple, ravishingly romantic, simply gorgeous, hugely evocative, this may be Shipp's finest achievement. Yet with the very next piece, "Keystroke," we're rudely thrust into uncharted waters: prickly, angular melodic piano fragments combined with weird electronic effects, skittish, chattering percussive voicings, "out" clarinet musings--but somehow entirely listenable. What's up here?

Follow that with a foray into Shipp's ambient jazz experiments ("Lightforms") and you've got the makings of sonic incoherence. Yet, amazingly, it all holds together. Sorcerer Sessions, indeed. All I know is there's some kind of deep magic happening here.

Sounding like a lost soundtrack to Blade Runner meets Snow Crash meets Pattern Recognition, with The Sorcerer Sessions Matthew Shipp has boldly thrown down the gauntlet to the Dave Douglases, Brad Mehldaus, Nicholas Paytons, and Jean-Michel Pilcs of this world: Top this.

And will anyone be able to? I don't think so. He's got this nu jazz thing down. Of course, it helps to have heavyweights William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), Daniel Bernard Roumain (violin), FLAM (programing and synthesizer), and Evan Ziproyn (clarinet, bass clarinet), a name new to me, yet an essential element in this magical music, on board. But it took the mind and musical genius of Matthew Shipp to organize and orchestrate this sonic ravishment.

Marking some kind of nu jazz landmark, The Sorcerer Sessions stands out among experimental yet accessible jazz experiences on offer. Absolutely not to be missed.

Ignore the two reviews that so arrogantly declare this album to not be music. Just that someone would presume to be the final word on what is and is not music eliminates any further credibility their review may have had. It is very narrow minded and egocentric to tear down what you can't understand.
I have just listened to Sourceror Sessions for the first time and i not only can confirm that this definitely IS music but also that it is very intelligent and creative music.
Never having heard Matthew Shipp before I didn't have any idea what to expect. The first track "Pulsar", while I liked it, didn't really catch my ear that much. As soon as track two began though, I was all ears. "Keystroke" is wonderfully bizarre with it's chattering computer keyboard sounds and chaotic piano ala Cecil Taylor.
"Lightforms" is a relatively tame track but then "Urban Shadows" takes off again into another world. I found myself having no idea what to expect next. This is a quality I am always delighted with when listening to an artist I haven't heard before.
I see that Matthew Shipp is considered to be a jazz artist but on many of these tracks I get more the feel of classical music. Stockhausen and Varese came to mind at times.
"x6" has an eastern, perhaps Japanese feel to it. Then "Fixed Point" again reminded me of Stockhausen. "Invisible Steps" was the first track that really made me feel as if I was listening to jazz. "Particle" is a very eerie and unusual tune that bores into your mind.
Matthew Shipp kept me guessing which direction he was going next thorughout the entire album. It is beyond me how anyone could dare say that this is not music. I personally found it very fresh and recommend it highly to anyone who can listen with an open mind.

I've heard that Matthew Shipp is one of the leaders of the new generation of jazz musicians. So I purchased this CD. And I listened. And I listened again. Throughout, I kept hoping The Sorcerer Sessions would stumble into something resembling music.

It doesn't.