Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Whit Dickey
January 23, 2022Village Mothership
Tao Forms TAO 06
William Parker/Matthew Shipp
Re-Union
RogueArt ROG-0111
New Yorkers pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker has been so much a part of the international Free Music scene for so long that’s had to think of a major musician with whom one or the other hasn’t played. At the same time, as these singular dates demonstrate their most profound creativity sometimes comes as a duo or when connecting with someone they have played with for three decades.
Recorded almost exactly a year apart, 2019’s Re-Union probes the extrasensory perception the pianist and bassist have built up over the years. Light or dark, fast or slow the stimulation is always there. Joined by drummer Whit Dickey who was an integral part of both Shipp’s first trio and the David S. Ware quartet. 2020’s village Mothership is a reunion of sorts, but one that verifies that a musical conversation involving three in-tune players is as production as the two-way variety.
Stretching out during Re-Union’s four tracks the contrast is between the bassist’s fluid pulsations and piano strategies which range from quiet comping to spurts of undulating speed, Early on the title track Shipp spins out variations on the buoyant melody as Parker connects the gaps with power pumps. Here as elsewhere, the pianist’s idea of spinning out the lines with arpeggiated descriptive passages is reminiscent of Herbie Nichols’ skill. This is especially apparent as Shipp alternates breezing up the keyboard scale with excursions into the instrument’s lower depths. Plus extra torque adds decisive firmness. Piling an inordinate number of notes into the narrative., a climax is reached with two minutes of supple swing at the end.
Playing on both sides of the tempo fence during the remainder of the session, Parker and Shipp show that their coordinated creativity can evolve at slowly as well. “The New Zo”, for instance, riffing on a formative Shipp composition, is played lento and rubato. The bassist squeaks out spiccato asides as the pianist concentrates on low-pitched pedal thumps. Soon double bass string rubs concentrate into a continuum to further thicken the resilient sections. Unfolding slowly, melody references are never abandoned, with keyboard japes and string squeak injecting spots of levity to prevent lugubriousness.
Dickey joining on Village Mothership provides enhanced balance. With the drummer’s subtle kit accents and cymbal stresses present, the others concentrate on other functions. Equilibrium is such that a pronounced swing groove can be felt throughout, with symmetry suggesting an update of the classic Ahmad Jamal trio. Not only is there integration of splash cymbal echoes, string buzzes and circular reiteration of piano notes and their extensions, but also space for slow, cerebral development.
This occurs most notably on “Nothingness” and the title track that follows it. Unfolding andante, the first emphasizes darkened keyboard tones, backed by insistent percussive slaps from bass and drums. By the time Shipp finishes outlining steeple chasing vibrations that are as much Arcadian aa accelerated, the exposition is centred with time-keeping stops from Parker. Beginning with one of Dickey’s few drum solos, the delicate clips and patterns on “Village Mothership” confirm his innate taste and restraint. Swiftly accelerating into a swing fest, the trio extends the exposition further and further out as theme and variation moves from one to another. Swirling piano lines eventually give way to a more leisurely pace which wrap up the instant composition with profound but distant concordance.
There’s more poof here of Shipp and Parker’s skills as an ineffable team. Dickey’s contributions just add strength to the relationship.
–Ken Waxman
Track Listing: Re-Union: 1. Re-Union 2. The New Zo 3. Further DNA 4. Song of Two
Personnel: Re-Union: Matthew Shipp (piano) and William Parker (bass)
Track Listing: Mothership: 1. A Thing & Nothing 2. Whirling In The Void 3. Nothingness 4. Village Mothership 5. Down Void Way 6. Nothing & A Thing
Personnel: Mothership: Matthew Shipp (piano); William Parker (bass) and Whit Dickey (drums)