Michael Bisio - Matthew Shipp Duo - Floating Ice (Relative Pitch, 2012)

This is a spare and thoughtful disc of duets between bassist Michael Bisio and pianist Matthew Shipp. The textures are very interesting, Shipp’s dark and mysterious tone meshes well with the deep elastic tone of Bisio’s bass. Opening with “Floating Ice” the music develops an urgency with percussive sections setting up areas of tension and then resolving them in an exciting fashion. The music has a large dynamic range from low and delicate to brash and boisterous. “Swing Laser” has a fast and demanding improvisation that develops into a strong interlude for bowed bass. A section of unaccompanied piano opens “Disc” showing Shipp probing, swirling and dancing across the music. His crystalline piano is also the centerpiece of “Supernova” playing dense deeps chords while Bisio responds with the bow. Exciting rhythmic piano and bowing builds eerie and hypnotic tones. ”Holographic Rag” develops the percussive piano motif even further, bringing in thick knots of low end notes and chords, propelling the music into the final track, “Decay,” where bowed bass and piano probe and saw and gently fade away. Michael Bisio & Matthew Shipp: Floating Ice - amazon.com

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