Zo (1994)

In pianist Matthew Shipp's striking reworking of the Gershwins' ''Summertime,'' the living is anything but easy. With William Parker's arco bass work providing a nervous background buzz, this player-to-watch of the jazz avant-garde (whose intense performances often end with blood on the keys) evokes a world fraught with danger, in Zo. His lines — heavy, disconsolate, yet clear — show occasional indebtedness to Cecil Taylor, but they're more accessible. B+