Here is yet another chapter in
Thirsty Ear
's provocative and consistently excellent
Blue Series
.
Equilibrium
is a more complex extension of
Shipp
's last album for the label, the stunning
Nu Bop
. Here, employing the talents of bassist
William Parker
, drummer
Gerald Cleaver
, vibraphonist
Khan Jamal
, and
electronics
and programming whiz
FLAM
,
moves to extend the reach of all of his previous musical excursions by putting them all to work on a single recording. And before anyone jumps to think "mess," don't. You'd be wrong. There are nine cuts, beginning with the stellar, pointillistic title track. The ensemble creates a series of contrapuntal exercises based around an engaged series of encounters between
and
Jamal
's ringing right hand strikes angular phrases, yet refrains from using force. Because of the textural element present in
's ornate yet dynamically restrained playing, the two instruments create a weave that is knotted by the rhythm section.
"Vamp to Vibe"
is just that, though it's created around a series of off-minor themes,
Cleaver
's drums propelling the movement of the entire piece as he double-times the band.
takes the first solo, creating a staircase scalar attack from the middle of the minor progression and arcing it upward before descending into the hushed maelstrom at the middle of the track.
"Nebula Theory"
is virtually a chamber piece, colored extensively by
Parker
's wondrous use of the bow on elongated lines.
"World of Blue Glass"
is among the most melodically sophisticated and aesthetically gorgeous pieces
has ever composed. Whatever dissonance makes its way into the piece is there for the reason of having it extended harmonically into something far more rich and, dare it be said, beautiful. The
hip-hoprisy
that creates the rhythmic flow of
"The Root"
jumbles
hip-hop
downtempo
, elaborated on by
, whose painting of the insides of the beat is remarkable.
offers chordal explorations on a marked set of changes and
moves everything into overdrive as the turntables kick in.
"The Key"
is positively
Monk
-like in its rhythmic construction and
Bill Evans
-like in its mysteriously enchanting melodic line. And with
taking a bass break that's pure, basic funky blues, it all comes together in a seamless whole. The disc closes with its most difficult and compelling piece,
"Nu Matrix."
It feels as if it were written for the soundtrack of
Andrei Tarkovsky
's film
Solaris
via
Webern
's earlier piano pieces. There are sounds adding dimension, there are no rhythms, there is only
's piano extrapolating on every minor seventh chord he plays. It would be a piano solo of some starkness, but the quark strangeness of the
makes it a meditation on schemata and closure.
, whose restless vision is never clouded by grandiosity or pretense, has become the most important pianist on the scene today.
is
soul
music for the mind. ~ Thom Jurek