It has become clear that Matthew Shipp is the most interesting and important jazz pianist of his generation, the most continually evolving and pushing forward. Now that he’s in his sixties and something of an elder statesman of the art form, he’s overdue for a retrospective look at his catalog, and to help make that happen, ESP-Disk’ will be reissuing some of his great early work that’s gone out of print:

The 1990 trio recording Circular Temple (originally self-released on Quinton, then reissued in 1994 by Henry Rollins on his Infinite Zero label).

His 1994 duo album with William Parker, Zo (originally on Rise, reissued in '97 on Rollins’s 2.13.61 label) in 2024.