Zarko

Yeah I wasn't THAT happy with the alternate song list in the end, probably because I had to pick them from another album I didn't like as much (In most cases I reviewed my favourite album from the group), ergo I decided to chuck up the best of the current albums.

Also, you want anything, you know the deal

jackhammer

All three yes please

__________________

Zarko

Nu Bop – Matthew Shipp (2002)


GENRES – Jazz, Nujazz, Avant Garde, Electronic

Space Shipp – 3:21
Nu-Bop – 6:07
ZX-1 – 4:16
D's Choice – 4:50
X-Ray – 3:28
Rocket Shipp – 7:36
Select Mode 1 – 1:23
Nu Abstract – 3:48
Select Mode 2 – 5:09

Personnel: Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Daniel Carter: saxophones & flute; Guillermo E. Brown: drums; FLAM: synths & programming.

Well I thought it was about time to hit you up with some more nujazz, and again, it won’t disappoint. Matthew Shipp, jazz pianist, has been a long time avant garde/free jazz musician who in the last decade has fiddled around with more levels of experimentation. ‘Nu Bop’ is quite the change for Shipp, and although raw at times, it still delivers on many fronts. Shipp is one of my favourite jazz pianists, and Nu Bop was a welcome change to his normal repertoire of work. However, this may have to do with my love for good nujazz in general, so take out of that what you will.

The album begins with an instant change up from his normal work, with ‘Space Shipp’ opening with the electronic beats before Shipp comes in on piano. The concurrent beat is fairly simple until Shipp breaks out with his free jazz style. The dirty electronic beats keeps the overall sound earthy, and despite its frenetic pace at times, it still keeps the feeling of a chilled out tune. Guillermo Brown on drums also offers up some great moments, as is common throughout the album. At times he does overpower the other aspects of the album though.

‘Nu-Bop’ introduces a heavy driving bass line, performed beautifully by William Parker, who is left to his own devices for a short while before Brown is set free with some intense drumming (Sometimes a little TOO intense), as well as Daniel Carter of saxophone. The earthy bass and drumming is used in contrast to some quality and ‘spacey’ sax performance, which is quite an interesting use of layers. Shipp takes the back seat for much of the piece, as he allows the three to do their thing, before he enters later in the 6 minute track. Each artist is given their chance to shine, however, I am not crazy on it in it’s entirety. With such nujazz pieces, I prefer the instruments be used in conjunction to one piece, which is why I prefer the song when Shipp is present. The track is more avant garde jazz than nujazz, which is a nice change up to the heavier electronic base present elsewhere on the album.

‘ZX-1’ is a dark, piano driven piece, with a stunning Shipp composition that is in its lonesome self the entirety of the song. Offering nothing but his own abilities, Shipp comes up with aces. It is much more than ‘simply’ a piano solo. It is pure dark and powered atmosphere. ‘D’s Choice’ has a great groovy base to it, with the electronics becoming far more apparent in the construct of the song. In general, early on no section becomes too extravagant, and each instrument holds their own, but this simplicity and resonance between the instruments is what makes the song great. The funky tones and solid pace make this track seem almost too short, despite clocking in at nearly 5 minutes in length. The song is definitely the best on the album. It ends with all instruments exiting the piece save Shipp, who in his tremendous simplicity makes the finale perfect.

‘X-Ray’ is another trip down a dark and mysterious alley, with Carter trading in his saxophone for a flute which, along with Parker’s disjointed bass playing creates a sense of alien anonymity. It’s only a short intermission from the normal work, but it is a fascinating change up purely due to the mood it creates. It reminds me of old movies, when the protagonist steps into a smoky opium bar in a country they are unfamiliar with. ‘Rocket Shipp’ tells this atmospheric down tempo jargon to piss off, as they reintroduce some driving intensity to the album. It’s pretty much a free for all in the first stages of the song, and in particular, once again, Brown is a stand out, with his drumming creating a fine string that holds the whole thing together. There is some interesting sampling in the middle, of some weird distorted vocals in the background, too unclear to make anything logical out of (not that I think you are meant to be able to). The electronic mixing becomes much more prominent in the second half, with a straightforward series of beats. The instruments start dying out, until only the bass remains, then only silence, until the pieces all link up once again to re-attack with force to end the song.

‘Select Mode 1’ is the most aggressive song as of yet, thanks to the deep piano tones and fastest electronic base as of yet. The song consists of another fairly straightforward beat base and Shipp’s piano work, which gets progressively more hostile and dark. ‘Nu Abstract’ is another electronic based song, and along with the higher piano pitch, creates a space and alien atmosphere. Difficult to describe, it is controlled by the alien overtones, as Shipp performs another relatively light piano piece to go along with it. Despite being the ‘hardest’ attempt to make a nujazz sound similar to what people know, its not a very good song, probably the worst in the whole album.

The album ends with a faster paced song, as all the pieces come back together for ‘Select Mode 2’. It was a very necessary change of pace from the last few tracks on the album, as Shipp gets back to what he does best; avant garde piano jazz compositions. It still toes the nujazz line at times, but overall its just a great construct to end the album.

There are obvious problems at times with ‘Nu Bop’. Considering it is Shipp’s first foray into the genre, its easy to understand as well. Sometimes it’s too raw and other times it becomes bogged down in one general area. This is especially apparent with the longer songs on the album. However, there are still enough positive signs to not only love the album, but also to give me a lot of hope for his newer albums if he ever becomes heavily involved in the genre again. Sometimes Shipp gets lost, but in the end he regains the intensity on the piano that makes him great, and makes him one of the best jazz pianists of the current generation.
TOTAL SCORE

7.9/10

– ZX-1
– D’s Choice

Apologies if poorly written, probably still too much alcohol in the blood