Matthew Shipp's New Orbit

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About Matthew Shipp's New Orbit

Product Description After 17 CDs and ten years, "This is the album I've always wanted to make," claims Shipp. Matthew Ship's New Orbit features the acclaimed Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums. This is truly a "new orbit" for Shipp, who shows his strenth as an Afro-American composer, threading this suite together with a new direction. Review As one of the most daring and original pianists in jazz, Matt Shipp continues to cover a wide spectrum of musical concepts and methods as artistic director of the Blue Series for Thirsty Ear Recordings. From avant-garde atonal textures to classical music textures and reams of cosmic consciousness and free expressionism, Shipp has been positioned in a lineage between Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor. As the fourth release in Thirsty Ear Recording's Blue Series, New Orbit finds Matthew Shipp at peace with himself in his attempt to unite the many experiences he has had as an Afro-American composer and the "various strands of the modern music world that are relevant to him." Shipp is joined on New Orbit by a great ensemble that includes Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, bassist extraordinaire William Parker, and the dynamic Gerald Cleaver on drums. Shipp retains his distinctive sonics and musical lexicons on such songs as "Paradox X" and "U Feature" but raises the bar on the previous series' releases with the inclusion of a four-part suite consisting of the title track, "Orbit 2," "Orbit 3," and "Orbit 4." By virtue of Shipp's creative powers, the suite strips away conventional interpretations and immerses the talents of his ensemble in new imagining and jazz abstracts. New Orbit is an excellent delivery of avant-garde and free jazz that remains uncompromising, unrelenting, and totally individual. --All Music Guide Step into the temple. Leave your busy frenzy behind. This is a place to respect and honor the higher power. Matthew Shipp's second Thirsty Ear record since his temporary "retirement" at age 38 pays open tribute to the interstellar spirituality of Coltrane and Ra. New Orbit is a somber, gothic affair bearing some similarity in tone to Shipp's early work (eg. Circular Temple), but lacking the striking density and overt tension of his work from that period. The general approach here is extroverted but deliberate. Much of New Orbit consists of open space. Shipp develops dark wispy themes with a structural focus; Leo Smith soars along warm, rich lines; William Parker bows a foamy harmonic stream. Harmonically speaking, these themes tend to rely upon tonal centers and a general pattern of conflict and resolution. When the quartet convenes in its entirety, William Parker's thick pulse and Gerald Cleaver's insistent forward-looking percussion drive the group's intensity to a higher level. This interplay tends to accent Smith's vibrant trumpet work, which bridges the gap between melodic simplicity and harmonic multiplicity. Imagine sitting in an ancient stone church with high spires, arched hallways, and massive wooden doors hung on huge cast iron hinges. The glass in the windows is almost liquid: it's translucent but not transparent. Patterns of blue and green move across the floor with the travel of the sun across the sky. You can feel a spiritual force moving you, but you can't see a thing. This is the temple. This is where Shipp leads you on New Orbit. Make no mistake: the music is contemporary and progressive; but the emotions behind it are as ancient as yearning itself. --All About Jazz Thirsty Ear started its new "Blue Series" jazz line a year ago. The series is produced by pianist Matthew Shipp. In the past year, Thirsty Ear issued interesting new CDs by Mat Maneri and William Parker as well as Matthew Shipp, who now has another release in the series, the evocative New Orbit. The title tune is a simple and haunting song that could almost be a children's tune. Shipp has interspersed freer improvisations between four different versions o