Matthew Shipp has played piano since he was 5 years old. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music with saxophonist Joe Maneri and cut his teeth working with saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and David S. Ware and bassist William Parker. Shipp holds two enduring label relationships with Hatology and Thirsty Ear, where he also serves as curator and director of the label’s Blue Series.
Bassist Michael Bisio, no stranger to Seattle audiences, invariably astounds with the beauty of his tone and the intensity of his very personal musical language. As a recording artist, Bisio appears on nearly 100 CDs and has had vital working relationships with Joe McPhee, Charles Gayle, Barbara Donald, Bill Smith, and Stuart Dempster, among many others. As a composer, he has been recognized with nine project grants from various arts organizations; in 2003, he was awarded a Washington State Artist Trust Fellowship.
Shipp and Bisio’s most recent duo release Floating Ice (Relative Pitch Records, 2012) has received immediate praise:
“These are two at the top of the era and they behave like it on this wonderful disk. It’s beyond category. Avant, sure. But essential no matter what you call it.” – Gapplegate Music Reviews
“Floating Ice is a revealing portrait of two master improvisers engaged in spontaneous discourse, with every nuance of their attentive interplay captured in minute detail. A testament to their shared chemistry, this session suggests the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration.” – All About Jazz
“It’s free-jazz, but full of melody, and every sound counts. (****)” – The Guardian