Matthew Shipp Quartet – “Sonic Fiction” (ESP Disk, 2018)

“Sonic Fiction” was released this year by “ESP Disk”. This album was recorded by four famous and creative avant-garde jazz musicians – Matthew Shipp (piano), Mat Walerian (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet), Michael Bisio (bass) and Whit Dickey (drums). These four musicians are also very well known as “Matthew Shipp Quartet”. The improvisations by this quartet are usually based on synthesis between different music styles, playing techniques, manners, moods and expressions. Their music is especially expressive, passionate, emotional and rapid. Unpredictable stylistic waves and turns, interesting and innovative musical decisions, vivacious and striking melodies, spontaneous solos, impressive musical experiments and modern musical language – all these elements are gently connnected together in one place. Each musician is the masterful and famous avant-garde jazz musicians. Their playing styles are based on impressive and masterful virtuosity, creative and spontaneous improvising, huge range of different playing techniques and rapid changes in musical language. Musicians are always improvising especially emotionally and with passion = their improvising is lieve, vibrant, energetic and vivacious.

The compositions of this album have energetic and interesting sound. Free, active, turbulent and expressive collective improvisations are the main and the most effective episodes of this album. Shrieky, harsh, aggressive and powerful blow outs of reeds, energetic, vivacious and striking piano melodies, subtle and dynamic bass and high variety of different rhythms and percussion sounds – all these elements are fused in one place. Alto saxophone, bass clarinet and clarinet improvisations by Mat Walerian are full of sudden stylistic changes and turns. Vivacious, playful and expressive solos, powerful and turbulent blow outs, melodic, memorable and relaxing pieces, harsh, sharp and dramatic culminations, various unusual timbres and sounds – all these elements are the main things of Mat Walerian improvisations. He masterfully fuses all these things in one place – he also blends together innovative ways of playing and traditional playing techniques, impressive and interesting musical expressions, different colours of sounds. Expressive and vivacious playing of Mat Walerian organically and very well goes along with pianist Matthew Shipp improvisations. Matthew Shipp playing is especially energetic and vivid. Wild fast and furious solos are gently connected with expressive and memorable melodies, musical experiments, free and spontaneous improvising, dissonance harmony and dynamic rhythmic. The melodies by these two masterful and outstanding jazz musicians make a solid, firm and interesting melodic pattern of improvisations. Michael Bisio bass melodies are the most heard in collective improvisations, which are based on abstract musical pattern and spontaneous solos. Vibrant, loud, powerful and expressive bass melodies in collective improvisations are fused together with more subtle and calm episodes. which also have huge variety of experimental ways of playing. Michael Bisio masterfully switches between wild fast, virtuosic and extremely rapid passages, loud and powerful solos, vibrant and expressive sound and silent, subtle and relaxing episodes. Whit Dickey drums are filled with many different rhythms and rhythmic formulas. Powerful and turbulent drum rolls, arpeggios, fanfars and vibrant tremolos are blended together with various percussion sounds and main elements of different jazz styles rhythmic. The main rhythmic formulas of bebop, post-bop, hard-bop and other modern jazz styles finally grow to collective, turbulent and free improvisations. All four musicians are improvising masterfully, energetic, vivid and expressive – their improvisations have pasisonate and innovative sound.