Matthew Shipp Trio

Thu., Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Rose Recital Hall (Room 419), Fisher-Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 34th and Walnut streets, www.arsnovaworkshop.com.

by Shaun Brady

jazz

After several years of experimenting with electronics, pianist Shipp's Piano Vortex is an almost disarmingly traditional acoustic date in spontaneous conversation with bassist Joe Morris and drummer Whit Dickey. But Shipp's imagination is too fertile to be hemmed in by restrictions as loosely defined as "tradition," and ends up with a cubist take on the piano trio. When a fragment of "Giant Steps" thrusts into the maelstrom of "Quivering With Speed," it's both incongruous and exactly right, one of those Picasso noses all the more beautiful for sticking out the side of a face.

Thu., Sept. 6, 8 p.m., Rose Recital Hall (Room 419), Fisher-Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 34th and Walnut streets, www.arsnovaworkshop.com.