Matthew Shipp Trio — Circular Temple

Matthew Shipp is a virtuoso avant-garde pianist in the mould of  Cecil Taylor, Mal Waldron, Andrew Hill even Bud Powell. But it’s more the energy and spirit of these great players that seeps into Shipp’s music that never fails to sound anything other than unique. Shipp gravitated to New York in the 80s where he sought out Cecil Taylor’s bassist William Parker,  the pair becoming an integral part of David S Ware’s quartet. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that when it came time for Shipp to record his sophomore album Points, he brought Parker on board along with drummer Whit Dickey (future Ware alumni) to complete the trio’s line-up. The recording of Circular Temple followed shortly with both albums recorded in 1990 but not released until two years later.  

Circular Temple is constructed in a traditional classical style - a four-movement piece that sees the Matthew Shipp Trio in full free-jazz flow.  Circular Temple#1 is an arresting point of entry. It’s gentle opening rapidly giving way to Parker’s sawing bass and Dickey’s highly percussive, cymbal-driven, refined rhythms. There is certainly something of the sea about this piece. The piano lines border on the modern classical as the three musicians push and pull - shifting between vying for space before falling in again to follow each other’s lead. It’s breathtaking and the intensity builds with every listen. An incredibly powerful start priming the listener for what is to come.  

Circular Temple#2 is subtitled ‘Monk’s Nightmare’  and there is no doubt that the soul of Monk has inveigled its way into the punchy and incessant opening riff –chaotic, stabbing piano lines that surf the span of the keyboard. The bass and drums keep track as the three musicians endeavour to keep up with one other. The playing on this track (indeed on all the tracks) is tremendous – intense, vigorous and fast-paced. Parker called it ‘bop extravaganza’ and it’s not hard to see why – although it probably does sit at the absolute far end of that particular spectrum.

Circular Temple#3 is a low-key, but intriguing duet between Dickey and Parker providing a brief respite and in preparation for what is to come on the album’s centrepiece, Circular Temple#4. Twenty-five minutes of masterful innovative jazz storytelling that begins with delicate piano before bass and drums join in around the six-minute mark, ratcheting things up a few notches as the dynamic ebbs and flows along with the tempo.  Monk seems to be floating in the background as the Trio hit crescendo after crescendo before Parker’s sawing bass brings us to a close. This is magnificent and available now on ESP-Disk in all formats.