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June 14 – Matt Wilson's Good Trouble honors Rep John Lewis and celebrates Wilson's 60th birthday year Standing on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama 55 years to the day after he was nearly killed while marching for Civil Rights, Congressman John Lewis urged the crowd to, “Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Those words have inspired countless Americans in the last few years. Count drummer/composer Matt Wilson among them. “I tend to think about what we do as musicians as ‘good trouble, ’” Wilson says. “We want to be provocative, we want to make statements, we want to open doors for people. Representative Lewis’ words inspire people to do what they can do from where they are. I'm not an elected official, but there are things we can do with just good deeds.” That mission drives the music on Wilson’s stirring new album, Good Trouble. Due out June 14, 2024, the album not only honors the late Rep. Lewis but celebrates Wilson’s 60th birthday and marks his 14th release as a leader for Palmetto Records. It also debuts a superb new quintet, also christened Good Trouble, which features a vibrant blend of longtime collaborators and new acquaintances: Wilson is joined by alto saxophonist Tia Fuller, tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Jeff Lederer, pianist and vocalist Dawn Clement, and bassist Ben Allison. “I love the chemistry, the feeling, the energy and the audacity of this band, ” Wilson exults. “When we got together in the studio it felt so joyful and loose, yet focused. It proved to be a great combination of people that can deal with music in the moment and be flexible, but also be attentive to the details.” The centerpiece of Good Trouble is the titular three-part suite, penned by Wilson in the aftermath of the passing, just months apart, of Rep. Lewis and the equally inspirational Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Lederer significantly expanded and arranged the suite in preparation for a performance by a high school ensemble in Kansas. The suite kicks off with “RBG, ” a lively salute to the late justice that culminates in the band chanting her name and entreating listeners to, “honor her plea / serve your community.” The notion of community is one that’s long been central to Wilson’s music, as reflected in his use of humor and his gregarious ethos. Since the pandemic he’s invited audiences into his own backyard for the annual Avant Yarde Jazz Festival, the sort of embracing gesture suggested by the album’s buoyant closer, “CommUnity Spirit.” It’s also an approach captured by the inclusion of the ethereal ballad “Be That As It May, ” featuring Clement’s wistful vocal. The tune was written by Akihito Gorai, a student of Wilson’s at the New School in New York. “Aki brought the song into an ensemble class and I loved it right away, ” Wilson recalls. “I think he was taken aback that we actually recorded it, but I was honored to play it. One of the reasons we’re here is to give young people these kinds of opportunities.” The “Good Trouble” suite continues with the delicate “Walk With the Wind, ” a variation on the title of Lewis’ 1998 autobiography, Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. Wilson’s resonant solo suggests the steely resolve and grace embodied by the concept. The suite concludes with the high-spirited groove of “Good Trouble, ” situated somewhere between church celebration, the raucous honky-tonk swing of Oliver Nelson’s “Hoe Down, ” and oblique, Dolphy-esque angles. Preceding the suite, the album opens with Wilson’s bop-contoured original “Fireplace, ” an homage to the late pianist Geri Allen. She is one of several recently departed masters to whom Wilson dedicates the recording, including pianists Frank Kimbrough and Carla Bley and trumpeter Ron Miles – all gifted purveyors of good musical trouble whose “sounds and spirits will never be forgotten, ” as the composer writes in his notes. Lederer contributes “Albert’s Alley, ” a sly tune inspired by the saxophonist’s dog that evokes a pair of fiery sax solos conjuring the memory of another Albert who has made a meaningful impact on Lederer’s music – Albert Ayler. The repertoire is rounded out by an unlikely trio of covers. The quintet has a blast with the off-kilter groove of Ornette Coleman’s “Feet Music, ” then basks in the tender glow of John Denver’s “Sunshine On My Shoulders” and charges with keen focus through Gary Bartz’s “Libra, ” a favorite of Wilson’s from the version on Max Roach’s 1968 classic Members, Don’t Git Weary. In its warm spirit of community and inclusivity, Good Trouble takes John Lewis’ soaring words to heart and serves as a fitting homage to the Civil Rights icon. “Representative Lewis was such a dignified leader, ” Wilson says. “Every time he spoke he displayed so much integrity, clarity and honesty without a trace of bitterness, despite everything he’d faced in his life. He was a remarkable human being.” Matt Wilson Few musicians embody the spontaneous energy of jazz like Matt Wilson. The New York-based drummer combines buoyant zeal, idiosyncratic style, infectious humor, joyous swing and an indomitable spirit of surprise. Together, with his universally recognized personal warmth, these qualities have made Wilson one of the most in-demand players and educators on the modern jazz scene, both beloved and respected by his peers, elders and students. Not bad for a mischievous Midwestern boy from Knoxville, Illinois. Whether anchoring an all-star group at the White House, juggling tricky rhythmic swerves with his own quartets, celebrating the holidays with his Christmas Tree-O, exploring the poetry of Carl Sandburg, sensitively supporting vocalists such as Dena DeRose, presenting concerts at a neighborhood church or donning a superhero cape to inspire young musicians to embrace their individuality, Wilson approaches music as a man on a mission: fostering a lively and passionate connection between music and people, whether they be playing or listening to it. Matt Wilson – Good Trouble Palmetto Records – PM2012 – Recorded June 8, 2023 Release date June 14, 2024 |
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