Village Mothership

Vinyl LP pressing. Drummer Whit Dickey, bassist William Parker, & pianist Matthew Shipp present a wondrous collective creation, their first studio recording since the Shipp-led 1992 classic, Circular Temple. This is also their first assembly since working together in the revered David S. Ware Quartet. In the late 1980s / early '90s, pianist Matthew Shipp and drummer Whit Dickey were young musicians taking part in the cultural ferment happening on New York City's Lower East Side, a place where free jazz, avant-rock and all manner of creative arts and political causes were colliding and combining to further the area's legacy of progressive action. William Parker - although just 2 years older than Dickey - had been part of that progressive action since the mid-70s, and was already a world traveler. As Shipp has noted on numerous occasions, a key aim in his moving to NYC was to make music with Parker. The sound and sensibility of that vintage East Village milieu informed Shipp's very first trio album, the striking Circular Temple. Although the three have worked together in important configurations in the decades since (vitally, in the mighty David S. Ware Quartet), they are now releasing their first trio studio album together since that original classic: Village Mothership, it's title in homage to the rich environment that fed the artistic development of these artists. This work together re-ignites this trio's profound creative pulse, with 30 years of devotion to the music since then clearly evident.