The Litchfield Jazz Festival’s 26th annual appearance is set for July 31st. The full-day fest will be live-streamed from Telefunken Soundstage and available free of charge via YouTube and Facebook.
At 3PM the Matt Wilson Quartet will take the stage. Wilson’s connection with Litchfield stretches back to 2003 and that first meeting would be hard to forget. Wilson, who has gotten a bit less zany with age, appeared in a fright wig and further accessorized with a belt fashioned from a scrap of yellow caution tape he “borrowed” from the somewhere on the grounds. As the set progressed, Andrew D’Angelo, the group’s outstanding but even zanier alto sax player took a dive off the stage and created a mosh pit where he was joined by young folks in the audience who grabbed the opportunity to body surf. “Off the hook” is probably the most accurate way to describe the music that day, but it was great!
Jeff Lederer for many years has led his own ensemble, Shakers n’ Bakers, with whom he performs modern jazz interpretations of the Vision Songs of the Shaker religious sect. He teaches for Jazz at Lincoln Center and plays and records as a side man, most recently on the critically praised History Gets Ahead of the Story with drummer Jeff Cogrove as leader, John Medeski on organ and Jeff on saxophones and flute executive producing. The album explores the work of composer William Parker.
Trumpeter/Composer Dave Ballou has performed and recorded with a vast array of artists such as the Lebanese oud player, Rabih Abou-Kahlil, legendary jazz musicians Clark Terry, Sheila Jordan, Dewey redman, Andrew Hill and Dave Liebman. He has been a member of several big bands including Michael Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus, John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, Maria Schneider, Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herd and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. Ballou’s work with the late Gunther Schuller include trumpet soloist for the authorized recording of Journey into Jazz with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and the world premiere of Schuller’s Encounters. He was also an orchestra member for the Tony Award winning Broadway revival of 42nd St. (2001-2004).
Chris Lightcap who, like Wilson, won two prestigious Chamber Music America New Works grants, has composed for and played with violinists Regina Carter and Joshua Bell, Tom Harrell and Dianne Reeves and many others. In 1998 he began to write for his then quartet featuring Gerald Cleaver, Tony Malaby and Bill McHenry. In 2005 he added Craig Taborn and keyboards, renamed the group Bigmouth and released two CDs, both of which were named top releases of the year by all the major outlets and toured international festivals. He followed this with the all-electric Superette and next founded SuperBigmouth, all successful undertakings.
Wilson is one of the busiest drummers in the business. In addition to faculty positions at New School, SUNY Purchase, Sarah Lawrence and elsewhere, he is in demand as a clinician and tours extensively. He is the father of four—three triplet boys and Audrey, a budding musical comedy performer. The boys are now college age and regular Festival goers may remember this band of brothers at two running exuberantly across the grounds as their dad held forth. Matt enjoys a special Litchfield distinction: he has appeared on more Litchfield festivals than any other single performer and twice served as Artist in Residence. He serves on the faculty of Litchfield Jazz Camp nearly every summer.
Among Matt’s critically acclaimed recordings, Honey And Salt (Music Inspired By The Poetry Of Carl Sandburg), was recognized on over 30 worldwide “Best of 2017” lists and received a 5-star review in DownBeat. He was named “2018 Musician of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association and received its “Record of the Year” honor for Honey And Salt. Matt topped the “Rising Star Drummer” category in DownBeat’s Critics Poll for five consecutive years and has appeared on over 400 recordings.
Matt Wilson’s irreverent teaching style has endeared him to students and teachers alike. He sometimes dons a Superman cape to inspire young musicians to allow themselves to be imaginative and be characters, not technicians. He calls himself “the allower.”
The Matt Wilson Quartet appears at the Litchfield Jazz Fest thanks to donations from members and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Connecticut Department of Economic Development’s Office of the Arts.