''Gravitational Systems'' is an album by American jazz pianist

Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp (born December 7, 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader. Early life and education Shipp was raised in Wilmington, Delaware. His mother was a friend of trumpeter Clifford Brown. He began playing ...

featuring a duo with violinist

Mat Maneri Mat Maneri (born October 4, 1969) is an American composer, violin, and viola player. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri and Sonja Maneri. Career Maneri has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Guerino Mazzola, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, G ...

, which was recorded in 1998 and released on the Swiss

hatOLOGY Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, ...

label. Shipp played previously with Maneri on the albums ''

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...

'', '' The Flow of X'' and '' By the Law of Music'', but this was their first duo performance. The recording includes a rendition of the English traditional song "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationers' Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English F ...

" and a version of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

's classic "

Naima "Naima" ( ) is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album '' Giant Steps'', and it became one of his first well-known works. History Co ...

Reception

In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Steve Loewy states that "Shipp is joined throughout by long-time collaborator, violinist Mat Maneri, whose perky and celebratory virtuosic runs are a perfect foil to the pianist's dense, sometimes morose underpinnings." The ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' review by Glenn Astarita says that "''Gravitational Systems'' brings to light the irresistible tendencies and similar jazz vernaculars of two modern day jazz pioneers who jointly display a great deal of synergy, depth and heart."Astarita, Glenn
''Gravitational Systems'' review
at

Track listing

:''All compositions by Matthew Shipp except as indicated'' # "Elasticity" – 4:48 # "

" (Traditional) – 4:43 # "Series of Planes" – 5:31 # "Knots" – 4:41 # "Notes" – 5:11 # "Two Elements" – 5:33 # "Landscape Harmony" – 8:33 # "Forcefield" – 8:19 # "Gravitational Systems" – 8:15 # "

" (

) – 3:16

Personnel

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

–

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

References

{{Authority control 2000 collaborative albums Matthew Shipp albums Hathut Records albums