Pianist and composer Matthew Shipp has a style of his own and his new solo record “I’ve Been To Many Places” takes you on a musical journey that is unlike any other. We caught up with Matt to talk about the new record as well as his approach to music and more.
Flowers In A Gun: Let’s start with your new CD “I’ve been to many places.” In the liner notes you say that it is kind of a musical journey to the different places that you’ve been to. Can you expand on that?
Matt Shipp: I’ve done so many things over the years, been in so many situations. Like quartet with David S. Ware and my own various groups. I have a huge discography. That just means that I’ve explored a lot of repertoire and a lot of different conceptual things. When I explored, whatever it was at the time, I was in a different place language wise. And I am in a different place now so I can recontextualize a lot of the things that I have done in the past from the position where I am now.
FIG: If the record provides a roadmap to where you’ve been, how did you pick the places? Because obviously you’ve done a lot more than reflected in the record.
MS: Right. You know, the places pick you. One day you just wake up and you are in a different place; you don’t necessarily plan on being there. For example, when I used to do some electronica projects, I used to run into DJ Spooky and he would say let’s collaborate. And at first it didn’t make sense, but than later it did. Really, a lot of that is just running into people on the streets and talking to them. I don’t know if there is any grand master plan. You just keep moving to different places.
FIG: You say that your music reflects brain waves or cosmic pulse. What does it mean to you?
MS: Everything is vibration. Anything that is dense. Like a human being or any piece of matter. And I think if you strip everything down to pure vibration, everything is just one pulse. Everything else is a gradation from that one pulse. So I guess when I am playing I am trying to get back to that one piece of data and trying to explore what that is.
FIG: What was the recording process like?
MS: I was very focused and I’ve done it a lot. Every CD is different, every process is different, and every CD has a different concept. But I really wanted to make a statement. I mean I always do, but it was even more this time. And solo always takes a lot preparation because of the nature of playing solo piano. So I guess I put a lot of time into preparing for it, but there is nothing in particular that stands out from the recording session. I always have fun in the studio because I really like the recording process. And in a CD like this, it’s always just one take. If something doesn’t work, you just move on. I have a lot of ideas and things and I never go back. So except for the “Waltz”, which we purposefully did a couple of takes of, the first one was kind of fast. And with “Waltz”, the guy that runs the label was at the recording session and he said why don’t we do it as a ballad and I agreed. But everything else we just did one take.
FIG: When you play or compose, where does the inspiration come from?
MS: I never write anything literal. It’s always some very abstract metaphysical theme. So I guess it’s inward, I never write about literal things. I can be inspired by idea, another CD, someone’s existence. But it’s not like I am inspired by a woman. It’s just different for me. Music is completely separated from what I do during the day. It’s a very metaphysical thing.
FIG: You have been a part of the NYC avant-garde jazz scene for a while now, how has it changed over the years from your perspective?
MS: Well, there seems to be a big influx of young people who want to play this kind of music. And everything has changed but nothing has changed. One thing though is that there are a lot less places to play in Manhattan. I know there all sorts of venues in Brooklyn, but I never play there. Here, the Stone is actually it. And it’s always been a struggle, some people make it above the struggle, but there is a lot that is still underground … so it’s basically the same.
FIG: Do you think that there is a big divide between more straight ahead jazz and the avant-garde? Do you feel that they overlap at all?
MS: They definitely do not. If you are a straight-ahead player it’s a whole different world. And you can pay lip service too and say that you have this and that influences … but they have their own school, their own scene. I think everything is still very segregated. And I think it’s always going to be that way just because the business aspect of the two is so very different. So unless people were really making money, or not making money, the same way they would have just a different worldview, different way of going about doing your thing.
FIG: What about the younger generation of the avant-garde musicians? Who have you worked with that stands out?
MS: Obviously Darius Jones, I play with him a lot. There is a tenor player, James Brandon Lewis. He just recorded a new CD. He used to be a student of mine at the Atlantic Center for the Arts when I was a visiting artist there. Sonny was talking about him recently and his new record. Gerald Cleaver and William Parker did the rhythm section on the album.
FIG: Do you think that music has color?
MS: Of course it does. And some people’s talent is to see tones in color. I am a very visual person and personally I see a lot of images, not color. Music is definitely color though. I see what I do as a kind of space module, it’s hard to explain, the images I have in mind, very abstract. I see things as shifting modules, like different densities and modules, and it’s almost like a spaceship, but it is not. It’s a piano. So in a way I see my music like that.
FIG: What are some of the other places you want to go to in the future now that the record is done?
MS: Deeper into interior of the piano. Whatever that might be. It’s like jumping off a cliff, but knowing that you will land somewhere.
FIG: And what are some of other projects that you are currently working on?
MS: I have two things coming out next year. One is a tribute to Duke Ellington with the Quartet and the other one is a quartet with William Parker. I am also recording for another smaller label a string album, we are recording at the end of October. But I am basically done recording, I will just be performing live. The recording process will stop for quite a while.
Anna Yatskevich is Flowers In A Gun’s glamorous jazz & beyond critic! Catch more reviews from her here and follow her on Twitter @jazzaddikt.
