Skipping

\"Skipping\" is the eighth track on the collaborative album Ivory Ganesh Meets Doctor Drums, released in 1998 by Canadian pianist and improviser Paul Plimley and Indian mridangam virtuoso Trichy Sankaran. The album emerged from a cross-cultural fusion of Western avant-garde jazz and Carnatic rhythmic traditions, documented under the Vancouver-based label Songlines in CD format.

The composition spans 4 minutes and 1 second, showcasing an interplay between Plimley’s prepared piano techniques and Sankaran’s intricate mridangam patterns. The track exemplifies the album’s broader exploration of spontaneous interaction, blending extended piano harmonics with South Indian percussive phrasing. No formal score or precomposed structure governs the performance, aligning with the duo’s emphasis on real-time improvisation.

Ivory Ganesh Meets Doctor Drums marked a documented collaboration between Plimley and Sankaran, though the extent of their prior or subsequent joint work remains undocumented in available sources. The album title references Sankaran’s nickname, \"Doctor Drums,\" derived from his academic background in ethnomusicology, and Plimley’s association with the experimental jazz collective Ivory Ganesh, a moniker he occasionally employed during the 1990s.

The Songlines label, known for its focus on global fusion and improvisational music, produced the recording. No singles, alternate versions, or live renditions of \"Skipping\" appear in public records. The track’s reception and critical analysis at the time of release are not widely archived, though the album itself contributed to discussions on intercultural jazz collaborations in the late 20th century.