Matthew Shipp

"Watching Matthew Shipp play the piano is a bit like sitting ringside. Lefts and rights hit the keyboard's midsection in steady jabs, finding a rhythm that alternately lulls and stings. Or he might work his left hand, creating a rumbling dance of low-end notes. Then it comes: An unanticipated chiming cluster, landing like a roundhouse punch." - Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal

Ars Nova Workshop presents a special solo performance by Matthew Shipp, one of today's most talented and singular pianists.

Born in Delaware in 1960, Shipp began playing piano at the age of 5 and studied music at the University of Delaware and the New England Conservatory of Music with saxophonist Joe Maneri.  He got his start working with Roscoe Mitchell and David S. Ware, and has since performed and/or recorded with Rob Brown, Joe Morris, William Parker, Mat Maneri, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell, Gerald Cleaver, Khan Jamal, and many others.  In addition to his extensive work as a jazz pianist, Shipp has also worked with hip hop artists Antipop Consortium and El-P, and electronic artist DJ Spooky.  He has toured internationally, and recorded many albums as a band leader and solo for labels like Hatology and Thirsty Ear, proving himself to be at the forefront of composition and performance for jazz piano.  His sixth and most recent solo piano album, 4D released on Thirsty Ear earlier this year, was called "his best solo effort yet," by the Chicago Reader.