Customer Reviews

Blue Series Continuum: Sorcerer Sessions

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

. . . acoustic, edgy, mysterious, chamber-jazzlike. "Pulsar," the opening number, tips his hand. Deveptively simple, ravishingly romantic, simply gorgeous, hugely evocative, this may be Shipp's finest achievement. Yet with the very next piece, "Keystroke," we're rudely thrust into uncharted waters: prickly, angular melodic piano fragments combined with weird electronic effects, skittish, chattering percussive voicings, "out" clarinet musings--but somehow entirely listenable. What's up here?

Follow that with a foray into Shipp's ambient jazz experiments ("Lightforms") and you've got the makings of sonic incoherence. Yet, amazingly, it all holds together. Sorcerer Sessions, indeed. All I know is there's some kind of deep magic happening here.

Sounding like a lost soundtrack to Blade Runner meets Snow Crash meets Pattern Recognition, with The Sorcerer Sessions Matthew Shipp has boldly thrown down the gauntlet to the Dave Douglases, Brad Mehldaus, Nicholas Paytons, and Jean-Michel Pilcs of this world: Top this.

And will anyone be able to? I don't think so. He's got this nu jazz thing down. Of course, it helps to have heavyweights William Parker (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums), Daniel Bernard Roumain (violin), FLAM (programing and synthesizer), and Evan Ziproyn (clarinet, bass clarinet), a name new to me, yet an essential element in this magical music, on board. But it took the mind and musical genius of Matthew Shipp to organize and orchestrate this sonic ravishment.

Marking some kind of nu jazz landmark, The Sorcerer Sessions stands out among experimental yet accessible jazz experiences on offer. Absolutely not to be missed.

Ignore the two reviews that so arrogantly declare this album to not be music. Just that someone would presume to be the final word on what is and is not music eliminates any further credibility their review may have had. It is very narrow minded and egocentric to tear down what you can't understand.
I have just listened to Sourceror Sessions for the first time and i not only can confirm that this definitely IS music but also that it is very intelligent and creative music.
Never having heard Matthew Shipp before I didn't have any idea what to expect. The first track "Pulsar", while I liked it, didn't really catch my ear that much. As soon as track two began though, I was all ears. "Keystroke" is wonderfully bizarre with it's chattering computer keyboard sounds and chaotic piano ala Cecil Taylor.
"Lightforms" is a relatively tame track but then "Urban Shadows" takes off again into another world. I found myself having no idea what to expect next. This is a quality I am always delighted with when listening to an artist I haven't heard before.
I see that Matthew Shipp is considered to be a jazz artist but on many of these tracks I get more the feel of classical music. Stockhausen and Varese came to mind at times.
"x6" has an eastern, perhaps Japanese feel to it. Then "Fixed Point" again reminded me of Stockhausen. "Invisible Steps" was the first track that really made me feel as if I was listening to jazz. "Particle" is a very eerie and unusual tune that bores into your mind.
Matthew Shipp kept me guessing which direction he was going next thorughout the entire album. It is beyond me how anyone could dare say that this is not music. I personally found it very fresh and recommend it highly to anyone who can listen with an open mind.

I wish I'd have seen the last guy's review, I wouldn't have bought this. It's just a bunch of sound effects and computer noises. No music, not easy to listen to, in fact it's really kind of irritating. Maybe his other stuff is better, but don't get this one. The extra star is just in case he was in a slump during this album. Everyone else seems to like it.

I've heard that Matthew Shipp is one of the leaders of the new generation of jazz musicians. So I purchased this CD. And I listened. And I listened again. Throughout, I kept hoping The Sorcerer Sessions would stumble into something resembling music.

It doesn't.