The Matt Wilson Quartet

Drummer Matt Wilson returns to Seattle with Andrew D'Angelo on alto sax and bass clarinet Jeff Lederer on tenor and soprano sax, and Chris Lightcap, bass.

Matt Wilson is considered one of the most creative jazz artists of his generation. He allows any musical setting to flow and explore with child-like fascination. His versatility and enthusiasm has been welcomed by a wide range of ensembles including those led by Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, Joe Lovano, Denny Zeitlin, Frank Kimbrough, Dena Derose, Ted Nash, Bill Mays and many others. Wilson has appeared on over 165 recordings as a sideman and has recorded 7 acclaimed recordings for Palmetto records. He currently leads three ensembles that perform worldwide- Arts and Crafts, the Matt Wilson Quartet and the Carl Sandburg Project as well as being a co-leader of Trio M. Wilson has been voted #1 Rising Star Drummer for the past 5 years in the DownBeat Critic’s Poll and his group, Arts and Crafts, was voted #1 Rising Star Small Group in the 2007 poll. The Jazz Journalists Association voted Matt Wilson Drummer of the Year in 2003.

Born in Greeley, Colorado in 1965, saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo moved to Seattle at age 5. In Seattle he forged powerful musical and personal relationships with fellow young musicians Chris Speed and Jim Black before moving to New York City in 1986. He reconnected with Speed in Black in Boston, where they formed Human Feel with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Human Feel would prove to be one of the central incubators of new jazz for the 1990s. When the band moved to Brooklyn in the early ‘90s, they were rapidly absorbed into the blossoming downtown music scene, becoming sidemen of choice for many world-renowned artists. D’Angelo joined bands and made records with Erik Friedlander, Bobby Previte, Cuong Vu and would forge another long-lasting musical relationship with drummer Matt Wilson. As a composer, D’Angelo has created a powerful personal language rooted in jazz but incorporating influences from electro-acoustic music, noise, and modern classical music. D’Angelo’s work as a composer has included music for big band, chamber groups, string orchestra and soloists. D’Angelo has realeased three CD’s with his trio Morthana with Norwegian musicians Anders Hana and Morten Olsen. He also released a trio CD Skadra Degis on Skirl Records in 2008.

Jeff Lederer is a New York-based saxophonist and composer. Born in Los Angeles, he attended Oberlin College, studying comparative religion, and earned the Masters of Music degree from Western Michigan University where he studied composition with Ramon Zupko. As a saxophonist, he currently tours internationally and records with the Matt Wilson Quartet as well as with salsa artist Jimmy Bosch. As a freelance musician, Jeff has also performed with the Mingus Big Band and Latin music legend Tito Puente. Together with vocalist Mary LaRose, he has produced four recordings for various record labels including Gunther Schuller’s GM Records. In 2003, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra premiered his radical re-imagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Los Sazones, scored for chamber orchestra and salsa band. He continues to work in areas that cross boundaries and artistic traditions. In the fall of 2004, the Minneapolis-based group VocalEssence premièred his new work for chorus, winds and percussion and his own new group, Shakers n’ Bakers, performed his music inspired by the ecstatic musical practices of the Shaker religious sect. Jeff is active as an educator and clinician, working with students from elementary to University settings. He is an artist-teacher for the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York City and has also recently conducted workshops/clinics at the University of Texas, Dartmouth College, SUNY Binghamton, and the Guimares Festival in Portugal.

Born and raised in the great beer and steel town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, bassist and composer Chris Lightcap started out on the piano at age eight, switched to violin at nine and began to teach himself the electric bass at fourteen. While attending Williams College, Chris studied with jazz bassist Cameron Brown, composers Robert Suderburg, David Kechley and Alvin Lucier, trumpeter Bill Dixon, and the late master bassist Milt Hinton. While attending Wesleyan University he also had the privilege of studying and performing with master drummer Edward Blackwell shortly before his death in 1992.  Lightcap’s debut CD as a leader, Lay-Up, was released in 2000 on Fresh Sound Records and dubbed “one of the year’s winners” by the New York Times. Lightcap’s quartet released its follow-up on Fresh Sound, Bigmouth in early 2003. As a sideman Lightcap has enjoyed work with a wide variety of musicians, having toured and played major festivals with bandleaders such as Mark Turner, Ravi Coltrane, Joe Morris, Matt Wilson, Ben Monder, Terrel Stafford, Rob Brown, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, and Regina Carter. The latter he performed and recorded extensively with over five years, touring throughout four continents playing alongside the Boston, Atlanta and Minnesota Symphony Orchestras. Chris has played on over 40 CDs, including Craig Taborn’s Light Made Lighter (Thirsty Ear), Regina Carter’s Pagannini: After a Dream (Verve/Universal) Whit Dickey’s Transonic (Aum Fidelity), Rob Brown’s Jumping Off the Page (No More), and Joe Morris’ Underthru (Omnitone).