Matt Wilson Quartet to Celebrate 15 Years of Sonic Merriment April 26th at Smalls

Celebrated drummer Matt Wilson is proud that the first of the many acclaimed projects he leads is celebrating an important milestone: 15 years of performing together. The Matt Wilson Quartet will mark the occasion with a special engagement Thursday April, 26 at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. The evening will feature the current members of the band, saxophonist Jeff Lederer, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and bassist Chris Lightcap, as well as former members Andrew D’Angelo and Joel Frahm on saxophones. The band’s original bassist,Yosuke Inoue, will perform via the internet from his home in Japan.

Wilson reflects about the Matt Wilson Quartet going on the the road for the first time in April 1997. “It is a bit crazy to realize that Kirk Knuffke was a just high school sophomore at that time. No one in the band had a cell phone, website or frequent flier elite status. As a matter of fact, we drove out and back from New York to the Midwest to do the tour. We roomed together to save money at motels that had often had numbers in their names. It was big fun because we were bringing it to the people!”

Since that time the Matt Wilson Quartet has released 4 acclaimed recordings for Palmetto Records and has performed hundreds of shows throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia. They have collaborated with legends Dewey Redman, Marshall Allen and John Scofield as well as performing their MWQ+Big Band program with over a dozen college and high school jazz ensembles throughout the United States. Their recent appearances with strings have been huge successes and their set at the 2010 Newport Jazz Festival was declared by NPR the “winner of the festival.”

Wilson’s latest recording, An Attitude for Gratitude, with his band Arts and Crafts is receiving rave reviews worldwide. That band has been touring extensively this year and will make their Village Vanguard debut September 4-9.

“We are definitely documenting the Matt Wilson Quartet Sonic Lovefest on April 26th for future release because I know it will be a happening.” says Wilson. “15 years of aligning, colliding AND swirling will fill Smalls and all of New York City with love for sure. Expect the unexpected folks!”

DETAILS:
MATT WILSON QUARTET PLUS GUESTS 15TH ANNIVERSARY SONIC LOVEFEST
THURSDAY APRIL, 26 2012 10:00PM. $20 ( COVER FOR WHOLE EVENING)
SMALLS JAZZ CLUB
183 10TH STREET NEW YORK, NEW YORK
mattwilsonjazz.com smallsjazzclub.com

Thanks to everyone for the sold out nights at Dizzy’s! We just started our touring baby!
Check out Arts and Crafts at the Village Vanguard Sept. 4-9!

Dizzy’s This Week!
Please come out and celebrate the release of Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts new cd, AN ATTITUDE FOR GRATITUDE, on Palmetto.

Dizzy’s Club Cocoa Cola
Tuesday, Feb. 28- Sunday, March 4
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Time Warner Center Broadway at 60th St. NYC
Shows at 7:30 and 9:30pm (11:30 on Friday and Saturday)
RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED Call (212) 258-9580 or 9795

Early reviews for An Attitude for Gratitude have been amazing. Check it out!

Bruce Handy in Vanity Fair:

Can I totally switch gears and talk about jazz? The drummer Matt Wilson released a new album this week, An Attitude for Gratitude, and I’ll be surprised—happily—if I hear a better jazz record this year. Wilson and his quartet (Terell Stafford on trumpet, Gary Versace on piano, and Martin Wind on bass) perform with unusual wit, a playfulness that never turns cloying or precludes drama and beauty. Listen closely, and you can hear the musicians finding their way with each other and joining together—the essence of jazz.

NPR, Fresh Air - “The other reason the album’s so good is Wilson’s knack for writing spry tunes, and for picking ones by other composers that inspire his players…”

All About Jazz - Feature and Review - “Drummer Matt Wilson may be the supreme human confluence of technique, swing, spirit, humor and musicality.”

DownBeat editor’s pick - “He exemplifies the idea of the artist’s instrument and music being an extension of who they are as a human being.”

Tour Dates Galore at mattwilsonjazz.com

Two bubbles found they had rainbows on their curves. They flickered out saying: “It was worth being a bubble, just to have held that rainbow thirty seconds,” recites drummer and bandleader Matt Wilson recites in his composition “Bubbles”. Inspired by the poem by Carl Sandburg, the song reflects the message of Matt’s 10th album as a leader for Palmetto Records.

The CD is available from the Palmetto website, An Attitude for Gratitude , iTunes and your favorite retailer.

Video Interview from Lionel Hampton Jazz Fest!

Please come out and celebrate the release of Matt Wilson’s Arts & Crafts new cd, AN ATTITUDE FOR GRATITUDE, on Palmetto.

Dizzy’s Club Cocoa Cola
Tuesday, Feb. 28- Sunday, March 4
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Time Warner Center Broadway at 60th St. NYC
Shows at 7:30 and 9:30pm (11:30 on Friday and Saturday)
RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED Call (212) 258-9580 or 9795

Early reviews for An Attitude for Gratitude have been amazing. Check it out!

Bruce Handy in Vanity Fair:

Can I totally switch gears and talk about jazz? The drummer Matt Wilson released a new album this week, An Attitude for Gratitude, and I’ll be surprised—happily—if I hear a better jazz record this year. Wilson and his quartet (Terell Stafford on trumpet, Gary Versace on piano, and Martin Wind on bass) perform with unusual wit, a playfulness that never turns cloying or precludes drama and beauty. Listen closely, and you can hear the musicians finding their way with each other and joining together—the essence of jazz.

NPR, Fresh Air - “The other reason the album’s so good is Wilson’s knack for writing spry tunes, and for picking ones by other composers that inspire his players…”

All About Jazz - Feature and Review - “Drummer Matt Wilson may be the supreme human confluence of technique, swing, spirit, humor and musicality.”

DownBeat editor’s pick - “He exemplifies the idea of the artist’s instrument and music being an extension of who they are as a human being.”

Tour Dates Galore at mattwilsonjazz.com

Two bubbles found they had rainbows on their curves. They flickered out saying: “It was worth being a bubble, just to have held that rainbow thirty seconds,” recites drummer and bandleader Matt Wilson recites in his composition “Bubbles”. Inspired by the poem by Carl Sandburg, the song reflects the message of Matt’s 10th album as a leader for Palmetto Records.

The CD is available from the Palmetto website, An Attitude for Gratitude , iTunes and your favorite retailer.

Heading to SF to be the guest artist on a discover jazz talk for SF Jazz about the great Tony Williams.
Tonight, Thursday January 26, at 7:00pm Jewish Community Center
In San Francisco!

Playing with the Fred Hess Big Band in Denver at Dazzle. We made a another groovy cd a few weeks back!
That is my good buddy Ron Miles showing some joyful encouragement.
I love him. He is the truth!

A Highlight of 2011: double bass and drums with jeff Hamilton, John Clayton,
Martin Wind, myself along w/ Bill Cunliffe, Terell Stafford and James Morrison at Vail Festival.

Tree-O Tonight Cornelia St. Cafe NYC!