Matthew Shipp is one of the best/most heralded jazz pianists of the last 10+ years. He somehow fuses avant-garde with hip-hop but maintains a strong hard jazz feel in his records. He recorded with J. Spaceman as well as Antipop Consortium. He's a good guy to follow.
Equilibrium (2003)
My favorite Shipp album I've heard. Killer album. One of the few jazz albums that would make it onto a "best of 00's" list for me.
"The key to this record's success is its fearless combination of approaches: jazz in a relatively pure form, as well as blended with a hip-hop/electronica sensibility. The mixes and effects, rather than diluting the essence, enrich it. So many pitfalls avoided, so many heights reached: Equilibrium is a brilliant record which should bear appeal to an incredibly wide range of listeners." -allaboutjazz
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One (2006)
Solo piano performance.
"Without the burden of having to prove his music’s merit to an imaginary crowd of tongue-wagging purists, Shipp achieves a more subtle, truer kind of fusion. One is a space in which Bill Evans’ impressionism and Cecil Taylor’s effluvious mindfucks can coexist and disintegrate together, as Shipp leaves jazz piano behind as seamlessly as he surveys its history, readily launching into cerebral passages that owe more to contemporary chamber music than jazz or blues traditions. Here’s hoping this release marks the beginning of a more tempered sense of ambition for Shipp." - tinymixtapes
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Harmonic Disorder (2009)
One of the best jazz albums I've heard this year. Brilliant playing.
The title Harmonic Disorder may read like this is one of Shipp's more intense outings, but the truth is, while it has wonderfully fiery moments, this is an intimate recording filled with new ideas, humor, depth, and warmth. -amg
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