Avant-jazz pianist and composer Matthew Shipp has been referred to as the “elder statesman” of the art form by DownBeat magazine, but the reach and scope of his music extends much further than mere genre. The Cosmic Piano delivers on that promise — a solo recording that taps into the deeper exploratory potential of the instrument, with Shipp channeling a lifetime of knowledge and a daunting array of influences into nearly an hour of spontaneous, enlightened and joyfully rendered music.
“The preparation is your life,” Shipp explains. “If you’re a real improviser — and I mean real by acknowledging that it’s a praxis and an art form and a discipline — it’s like being a boxer. You do your road work, speed bag, heavy bag and then you spar, and it’s an all-day process for you. It’s a lifestyle.”
As with all of Shipp’s music, this album goes beyond any simple categorization, and in part informs why he wanted to release it through Cantaloupe Music, the in-house label of Bang on a Can. As Bang on a Can co-founder David Lang writes, “Matthew had the idea that if his music could be heard in the context of Cantaloupe’s catalog, it could encourage people to hear a different aspect of what he does. It isn’t that he made a different kind of music than he usually makes — this music is clearly his! What has changed is the context in which we are listening to it.”
Track Listing
- The Cosmic Piano 3:57
- Cosmic Junk Jazz DNA 7:58
- Orbit Light 6:18
- Piano’s DNA Upgrade 5:07
- The Other Dimensional Tone 6:35
- Blues Orgasm 5:02
- Radio Signals from Jazz Keys 2:21
- Suburban Outerspace 4:22
- Face to Face 3:13
- Subconscious Piano 2:05
- The Future Is in the Past 5:15
- A Cosmic Thank You 3:17
TOTAL TIME 55:50
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Marc Urselli. Recorded on September 8, 2024 at EastSide Sound, New York, NY
All compositions published by Matt Shipp Music (ASCAP)
For more about everything you hear on this recording, visit cantaloupemusic.com and matthewshippjazzpianist.blogspot.com.