Matthew Shipp

I mean we are quibbling at this point but for me Gospelized gets a slight edge, but yeah Wisdom of Uncertainty is awesome, I frankly love all the records she did with them

Also xxxpost that Lacy record with Few & Charles is great

No special pleading on my part. Pat Thomas is a world class pianist and recognised as such by Tyshawn Sorey, Luke Stewart, Damon Smith, William Parker, Moor Mother and many others. He has the rhythmic clusters thing going on but he’s also incredibly dexterous and lyrical. Perhaps you have to catch him live to really get it - he’s yet to play the US which is a travesty when you consider the mediocre Britjazz being pushed by certain US labels atm - but he’s astonishing solo and always elevates group situations. Case in point, him taking Irreversible Entanglements to another level at Le Guess Who a few years back. Or his various sets at the London Brotzmann festival last month - incredible duos with Han Bennink and Sven Ake Johanssen. Pat isn’t just a very fine musician, he’s got that special sauce! Brilliant at electronics too - his New Jazz Jungle is incredible, Webern and Parliament chopped up over Amen breaks. His funky Braxton album on Discus is a blast - language music via P-funk, Prime Time and dub.

In other words, Pat isn’t “one of those guys”. No one else can do what he does. Straddles free jazz, free improvisation and new music, and the Sufi and Caribbean influences are crucial.

That's all fair. I haven't listened to his music in enough depth to claim to understand it — I reviewed five of his albums together for The Wire last summer, and each one was very different from the others. So yeah, he operates on a much wider canvas than Shipp or most others, but for some reason I often find myself receiving his music uncharitably.