''Zo'' is an album by American jazz pianist
Matthew Shipp with bassist
William Parker, which was recorded in 1993 and released on the tiny label Rise Records. The album was reissued in 1997 by the
2.13.61
2.13.61, Inc. is a publisher and record company founded by American musician Henry Rollins and named after his date of birth (February 13, 1961). The company has released albums by the Rollins Band, all of Rollins' spoken word work, and numero ...
label, founded by
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rolli ...
, in partnership with
Thirsty Ear Recordings
Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990.
Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...
.
Music
Shipp states that this is a tribute to his favorite modern pianist
Andrew Hill.
[Original Liner Notes by Steve Dalachinsky] In his book ''Visions of Jazz: The First Century'',
Gary Giddins says about ''Zo'', "His duets with the highly original and seemingly omnipresent
William Parker, form a suite with a pensive reharmonized "
Summertime" as the second of four movements, and Shipp's hammering single notes and his chordal harmonies in part three show how fastidiously he control his material while charting his own course."
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 ...
, David R. Adler states: "It's a dark, forbidding affair, although the solo piano openings of 'Zo, No. 2' and 'Zo, No. 3,' beautiful in their angularity, provide some breathing room."
''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' says that "''Zo'' seems more specifically experimental in that Shipp and Parker seem to want to plunge into the darkest (and sometimes the dreariest) corners they can find, deep left-hand chords set on top of juddering bass vamps."
Track listing
:''All compositions by Matthew Shipp except as indicated''
# "Zo #1" – 10:24
# "
Summertime" (
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
) – 12:01
# "Zo #2" – 13:28
# "Zo #3" – 14:02
Personnel
*
Matthew Shipp -
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 ...
*
William Parker –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
References
{{Authority control
1994 albums
Matthew Shipp albums
2.13.61 albums