Pianist Matthew Shipp makes music where free jazz and modern classical meet. In the early '90s, he played in the David S. Ware Quartet and soon began leading his own sessions, often with bassist William Parker. He has recorded many duets with musicians such as Roscoe Mitchell and Mat Maneri. He began playing piano at five and focused on jazz by age 12. He studied with Robert "Boisey" Lawrey and later attended the New England Conservatory after brief studies with Dennis Sandole. He moved to New York City in 1984, where he met William Parker, and has since recorded for labels including HatArt, Thirsty Ear, RogueArt, AUM Fidelity, ESP-Disk, and Tao Forms. Matthew was recently in the news for his comments on Andre 3000's recent 7 Piano Sketches album. In April he release a collection of essays and poems Black Mystery School Pianists and Other Writings.