Search - Other Dimensions in Music :: Time Is of the Essence Is Beyond Time

Toward the end of 1999, pianist Matthew Shipp announced a recording hiatus. This project, recorded in 1997 and featuring bassist William Parker, drummer Rashid Bakr, trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. and saxist Daniel Carter, gives fans of Shipp a recent glimpse into his thunderous improvisations. Shipp works with rumbling blocks of notes that he stacks around a composition. Since the work of Shipp and his cohorts is fully improvised, this solid foundation goes a long way in establishing the tone and direction of the music. To be sure, Shipp is in good company here. Parker is widely regarded as the bassist of the avant-garde, while both Campbell and Bakr enjoy growing reputations. Here, it is Parker who jumps to the fore. Accommodating Shipp's stabbing note-jolts with the deft bob and weave of a boxer, or leading Campbell's trumpet into the stratosphere with his arresting bow work, the bassist seems everywhere at once. Saxist Carter, while certainly a skilled, veteran improviser, seems content to observe the proceedings from a safer distance, offering quick commentary from the sidelines and occasionally jumping into the fray to tangle with Campbell. That's not to say that this is a high-octane free-jazz blowout. True to form, Shipp and Parker both excel at varying tone and tempo, creating textures that both excite and offer moments of contemplation. While not as epic as many of the Parker/Shipp conversations previously documented, Essence is still remarkable in the huge portion of ideas it digests, as well as the playing that manages to be both startlingly new yet confidently reassuring and brave. --S. Duda