Elastic Aspects

*Elastic Aspects* is the second album in as many years that iconoclastic pianist Shipp recorded with double bassist Michael Bisio and longtime drummer Whit Dickey. A follow-up to 2011’s *Art of the Improviser*, it features 13 Shipp originals ranging from brief but memorable interludes to the seven-and-a-half-minute finale. As with a diverse live set, Shipp varies the instrumentation from solo piano (“Alternative Aspects,” “Dimension”) and unaccompanied bass (“Rainforest\") to the furious-sounding arco bass and propulsive drumming of “Flow Chart.” Bisio’s hearty walking bass line kicks off “Psychic Counterpart” before Shipp lays down dizzying piano lines atop Dickey’s abstract drumming. “Raw Materials” starts magnificently as a Baroque-inspired duo between Shipp and Bisio before seamlessly transforming into an impressionistic modern jazz piece.