Zo
Studio album by
Matthew Shipp
Released1994
RecordedMay 1993
StudioSeltzer Sound, New York
GenreJazz
Length49:55
LabelRise Records
2.13.61
Matthew Shipp chronology
Circular Temple
(1992)		 Zo
(1994)		 Critical Mass
(1995)

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 label, founded by Henry Rollins, in partnership with Thirsty Ear Recordings.

Music

Shipp states that this is a tribute to his favorite modern pianist Andrew Hill.[1] 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."[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

In his review for AllMusic, 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."[3]

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."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Matthew Shipp except as indicated
  1. "Zo #1" – 10:24
  2. "Summertime" (George Gershwin) – 12:01
  3. "Zo #2" – 13:28
  4. "Zo #3" – 14:02

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Original Liner Notes by Steve Dalachinsky
  2. ↑ Giddins, Gary (2000). Visions of Jazz:The First Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 526. ISBN 0195132416.
  3. 1 2 Adler, David R.. Matthew Shipp – Zo: Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (6th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 1338. ISBN 0140515216.
  5. ↑ Brackett, Nathan (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. The Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Fireside. pp. 732. ISBN 0743201698.
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