''Gravitational Systems'' is an album by American jazz pianist

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and began playing piano at six years old. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford B ...

featuring a duo with violinist

Mat Maneri Mat Maneri (born October 4, 1969) is an American composer, violin, and viola player. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri and Sonja Maneri. Career Maneri has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Guerino Mazzola, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Ger ...

, which was recorded in 1998 and released on the Swiss

hatOLOGY Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

label. Shipp played previously with Maneri on the albums ''

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...

'', '' The Flow of X'' and '' By the Law of Music'', but this was their first duo performance. The recording includes a rendition of the English traditional song "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fol ...

" and a version of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

's classic "

Naima "Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album ''Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works. History Col ...

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Steve Loewy states that "Shipp is joined throughout by long-time collaborator, violinist Mat Maneri, whose perky and celebratory virtuosic runs are a perfect foil to the pianist's dense, sometimes morose underpinnings." The ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' review by Glenn Astarita says that "''Gravitational Systems'' brings to light the irresistible tendencies and similar jazz vernaculars of two modern day jazz pioneers who jointly display a great deal of synergy, depth and heart."Astarita, Glenn
''Gravitational Systems'' review
at

Track listing

:''All compositions by Matthew Shipp except as indicated'' # "Elasticity" – 4:48 # "

" (Traditional) – 4:43 # "Series of Planes" – 5:31 # "Knots" – 4:41 # "Notes" – 5:11 # "Two Elements" – 5:33 # "Landscape Harmony" – 8:33 # "Forcefield" – 8:19 # "Gravitational Systems" – 8:15 # "

" (

) – 3:16

Personnel

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums Matthew Shipp albums Hathut Records albums