So what do I mean by a Black Mystery School pianist? Mystery School pianists have developed profound ways of generating sound out of the instrument, grounded in a technique they invented – one that cannot be taught in school. This vision is extreme in its iconoclastic nature, although some Mystery School pianists, like Mal Waldron, have done gigs like backing singers (eg Billie Holiday, etc). Most free jazz pianists do not make the list because the Mystery School is not about free jazz per se. This is an extract from Matthew Shipp’s Black Mystery School Pianists And Other Writings which is published by Autonomedia.