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Chad Fowler / Matthew Shipp: Old Stories

By Mark Corroto
March 28, 2022
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Chad Fowler / Matthew Shipp: Old Stories

Call it kismet, karma, astral influence or just plain luck, but when two musicians instantaneously click upon meeting, magic happens. Indeed, that was the case with the coming together of saxophonist

Chad Fowler

saxophone
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Fowler and pianist

Matthew Shipp

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Shipp. The New York-based Shipp is ,of course, well known to adventurous listeners from his solo and trio recordings, plus his history with

David S. Ware

saxophone, tenor
1949 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">David S. Ware,

Roscoe Mitchell

saxophone
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Roscoe Mitchell,

William Parker

bass
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">William Parker, and

" data-original-title="" title="">Ivo Perelman. Fowler's name might be new to some ears. He is an Arkansas-based musician with a history in blues and soul music which informs his passion for free improvisation. He leads the group Dopolarians, an ever expanding supergroup which has included

Kidd Jordan

saxophone
1935 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Kidd Jordan,

Alvin Fielder

drums
b.1935

" data-original-title="" title="">Alvin Fielder, William Parker,

Brian Blade

drums
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Blade besides Fowler's regular partners

Christopher Parker

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Christopher Parker,

Kelley Hurt

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Kelley Hurt. Dopolarians released two excellent albums on Fowler's Mahakala Music, Garden Party (2019) and The Bond (2021).

Fowler and Shipp met in October of 2021 in Brooklyn to produce these instant compositions. Before the tape rolled, Shipp was warming up by playing

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's music, which ignited Fowler's interest in the sound of

Johnny Hodges

saxophone, alto
1907 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Hodges. That is quite evident, as we hear fragments of "Black And Tan Fantasy" on "Chapter VIII." But this is no Hodges imitation. Fowler performs the composition with a saxello, or curved soprano on this one track. On the remaining thirteen tracks we hear a stritch, the saxophone made famous by

Rahsaan Roland Kirk

woodwinds
1935 - 1977

" data-original-title="" title="">Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Much like Shipp's sessions with Perelman, there is little to no discussion before the recording tape rolls. Mood and pace are initiated by either musician while the other accompanies, complements, adds, comments, and corroborates the improvisations' direction. Where Perelman's saxophone tends to tread on the upper registers, Fowler works a more soulful middle way. Is this attributable to his study of Tibetan Buddhism, or his Southern roots? Probably both inform the gentle nature of this duo. Shipp's immediately recognizable sound is well-matched here, as he easily glides along with the saxophonist or pilot Fowler into the stratosphere.

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Track Listing

CD1: Chapter I; Chapter II; Chapter III; Chapter IV; Chapter V; Chapter VI; Chapter VII; CD2: Chapter VIII; Chapter IX; Chapter X; Chapter XI; Chapter XII; Chapter XIII; Chapter XIV.

Personnel

Chad Fowler

saxophone

Matthew Shipp

piano

Album information

Title: Old Stories | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Mahakala Music

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