André 3000’s “Garbage” Piano EP Has Jazz Heads Like Matthew Shipp P##### Off
André 3000 is out here looking like a Black Beethoven. Bro had a literal piano strapped to his back, and then there’s the (slightly) unexpected EP of solo piano improvisations, 7 piano sketches. Not everybody is happy.
The project is a follow-up to New Blue Sun. There he was playing the flute.
“These piano sketches are improvisations,” André wrote in a personal note alongside the release. OK. “To conjure them up, I spread my fingers out on the keys and randomly but with purpose move them around until I find something that feels good or interesting… I cannot name which notes, keys or chords that I’m playing.”
Sounds like a way out in case somebody like jazz pianist Matthew Shipp comes to the party. Well, here we are.
Shipp is an acclaimed improviser and avant-garde figure in his own right. He may not be as famous, but he’s accomplished. And he’s talking very loudly. Shipp has made it clear that he’s not feeling André’s new work, calling it unserious. Keeping it real, he called it “f##king crap.” WOW.
Shipp seems to feel André’s “dabbling” comes off more like musical cosplay than genuine craft. Here’s what he said:
so a friend called me up and mentioned that Andre 3000 has a piano album out–i was like what . I checked it out on youtube — my impression of it. I think it is complete and utter crap -horrific-god awful insipidly wretched nothing . oh my f###### god this is some atrocious s#### — is he some type of f###### a###### ? is he a complete and utter dilletante ? I could go into detail about why each cut is stillborn –but why bother –it does not even deserve the attention of a critique it is so dreadful . the guy is not a pianist -that is the beginning and the end of it — what an ugly piano sound — lets not even talk about telling a story with harmony.
sounds like he listens to a bunch of music gets a couple of gestures in his head –sits down in a stream of consciousness and gets at some gesture for a few bars of something that he has not internalized -and barely knows on the most superficial level and then he loses the thread–of course there is zero composition going on in the improvisations –no language to speak of just a few cliches in his head that he can’t actually play the cliche but he hits and tries at it until he peters out quickly.
wow — he is so horrible at playing harmony –so many horn players that piano is not their instrument play so much better — this sounds to me like pure fraud —- what a lack of respect for the discipline by someone who in my opinion is a complete a###### for doing this — it is depressing that this garbage will get any attention because he has a name and fame — there is nothing refreshing about the naivety of it –it is just downright dreadful and awful–true f###### crap –insipidly wretched nothing.
Read the full statement here.
Can an untrained artist—a musical genius in another genre—enter a new lane without disrespecting the tradition? Hmmmmmmmm…André never claimed to be Herbie Hancock, but this is a chat we should be having. But jazz greats like Shipp aren’t handing out participation trophies.
André 3000 isn’t chasing the charts or Hip-Hop. He’s looking for peace. I will admit, this time feels different…this felt like a rollout. What do you think?