Green Heart Record Release Party Featuring Nilson Matta And Zé Luis December 17, 2007 By Mark Keating Joe's Pub New York City Genre: Brazilian
On Dec. 17, New York's Joe's Pub hosted the release party for the first CD issued by the fledgling Brazilian/American indie music label New Orbita. Green Heart is a compilation of instrumental Brazilian contemporary music whose stated goal is to raise environmental awareness and provide a "green" business model for music production, distribution and touring.
Headlining that night were two of the record's three luminaries: bassist Nilson Matta and flautist Zé Luis Oliveira (drummer Paulo Braga and his band complete the Green Heart compilation).
Matta kicked off the evening with one of his own compositions from the disk, an engaging samba titled "Paraty," named after the historic coastal city sited between Rio de Janiero and São Paulo. Founded in colonial times, Paraty is now green Brazil's "Emerald City," where horses and bicycles are the transportation, and parks designated as nature preserves encompass the city. With Klaus Mueller on piano and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums, Matta extended a hearty samba welcome to a city of optimism, with his nimble command of the double bass driving the upbeat melody. After deconstructing the tune with a solo improv, Matta led his trio home with a calorie-burning showcase that had him dabbing sweat from his brow.
Removing his jacket, Matta said, "I feel like a tropical bird." He began another of his compositions, "Forests," which Matta explained was inspired by the Amazon rain forest. Having established a scene of urban conviviality, the trio now entered a quieter place where melodic fragments hovered untethered from any rhythm by the bass. The piece was a narrative of exploratory intrigue, building slowly until an assertive 5/4 rhythm segued into "Green Heart," the Matta-penned title song from the compilation CD.
Matta closed his set with "Baden," his high-strutting tribute to guitarist Baden Powell. Here, the trio was lit in primary colors of red, yellow and blue with Matta and his double bass centerstage. Starting like a runaway jazzed-up carnavale, they morphed into a baroque theme that took the crowd by surprise. If Haydn had ever attempted a jazz choro, it might have sounded like this.
It was with this cheerful air that Matta finished his set, after which he introduced his friend Zé Luis, playfully describing him as "mature."
For the event's third and final act, Nilson Matta joined Zé Luis on the stage accompanied by special guest, guitar virtuoso Toninho Horta. Here, the three men performed as an augmented trio, beginning their set with Jobim's timeless anthem, "Wave." The notes from Horta's acoustic guitar had a pearly gleam as he picked them, however the flattened chords he used to begin his "Viver de Amor" was the closest the night came to a rock-and-roll moment. Matta proved a formidable accompanist during Horta's "Aquelas Coisas Todas," with a fluttering bass line anchoring Horta's runs on the guitar.
Acknowledging the cheering crowd, the ensemble launched into Baden Powell's "Berimbau" for the finale, a moment that was MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) in its full glory.
Had there been any curiosity about the linkage between Brazilian music and environmentalism, it seemed put to rest by the end of the show. As Matta had explained earlier in the evening, bossa nova didn't need to adapt itself to "green" consciousness, it was always there. Through the efforts of New Orbita, the soundtrack for preservation need not only be the sober ruminations of Sting or the eleventh-hour alarm of save-the-planet DJ parties. It could also be a sound we have enjoyed for years. The sound of Brazil—a country that, as of last year, attained energy self-sufficiency, and today is poised to take that show on the road.
This is a band that I created to play for an important convention about Brazilian Culture at Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City. I enjoyed playing so much the repertory based in a different region of Brazil that has its own particular style of music and its own rhythmic patterns, that I decided to maintain the name Brazilian Voyage and the band as well.
Since then every time promoters or clubs offer me a gig I call some great musicians and I put Nilson Matta - Brazilian Voyage together to play my originals songs and the Brazilian songbook. The band has been performed in Music Festivals, Jazz Clubs and Private Events.
Because people are always asking me about when the first band CD will be released I decided to go to the studio this year and record the Brazilian Voyage material we have been playing since we started and of course new compositions I have written for the band.
We expect to have our first CD ready in September 2008.
REVIEW
JAZZ Review By Don Heckman Special to The Times Los Angeles Times Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Voyaging into parallel expressions of sound
It was carnival time over the weekend, and sequined and feathered dancers – in sync with celebrations throughout Brazil – were vibrating to the rhythms of the samba from the Queen Mary to the Palladium, Always a hedonist’s delight, it was a weekend loaded with sensory stimuli. On Sunday afternoon, it also was a time to experience another aspect of Brazil’s rich culture through the music of the group Brazilian Voyage. Performing at the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation in Beverly Hills, the quartet – guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianist Helio Alves, bassist Nilson Matta and drummer Chris Eddleton – illuminated the romance between jazz and Brazilian music that has been finding new forms of expression for more than a half century. Brazilian Voyage, performing originals of Lubambo, Alves and Matta as well as Luiz Bonfa “Manhã de Carnaval” they played with stunning élan, improvising freely over of Brazilian rhythms. Most fascinating, however, was the clear sense of this unique Brazilian take on jazz. Only loosely connected with the blues roots so important to American Jazz, it is more indebted to the fast-paced, virtuosic techniques of choro, the early (and still very much alive) Brazilian music roughly parallel to New Orleans jazz. Swinging in their own fashion, generating quick-paced melodies and sudden rhythmic accents the Brazilian Voyage player affirmed the capacity of jazz to become a global form of musical expression.
January, 25th & 26th Nilson Matta Crystal Circle Vic Juris on guitar Anthony Pinciotti on drums Nilson Matta on bass special guest Anat Cohen at Cachaça - NYC www.cachacajazz.com
February, 15th & 16th With Brazilian Trio @ Mistura Fina - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
February, 22nd With Claudio Roditi & David Valentin @ Montclair Art Center Museum Montclair, NJ
March, 28th & 29th Nilson Matta - Brazilian Voyage Trio Featuring: Anne Drummond @ The Kitano, NYC
2007:
January 12 and 13 January Nilson Matta Trio at Knickebocker , NYC
January 19 with Mark Weinstein Quartet at 88 Note, NJ
January 27 with Anne Drummond Quartet Seattle, WA
February 8 with Trio Da Paz Tribeca Performing Arts Center, NYC
February 14 to 26 Master Class Conservatorie Du Musique France
February 27 to March 4 with Trio Da Paz at Blue Note, NYC
March 10 with Mark Morganelli's Brazilian Project at White Plains Performing Arts Center White Plains, NY
March 21 with Trio Da Paz SUNY Binghamton, NY
March 30 and 31 Nilson Matta - Brazilian Voyage Trio at The Kitano, NYC
April 14 with Joe Carter Trio at The Black Rock t Center Bridgeport, CT
April 21 Nilson Matta Trio Shanghai Jazz Madison, NJ
May 20 with Trio Da Paz at Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT
June 9 Nilson Matta - Brazilian Voyage Illinois
June 10 Nilson Matta Brazilian Voyage Band Feature Harry Allen at New Jersey Jazz Festival Madison, NJ
June 30 & July 1 with Trio Da Paz Jazz Baltica Festival Germany
August 12 with Trio Da Paz Newport Jazz Festival
August 14 thru 19 with Trio da Paz at Dizzy's Club, NYC
August 20 with Trio Da Paz Cooperstown, NY
August, 21 thru 26 with Trio Da Paz at Dizzy's Coca-Cola, NYC
September, 16 with Trio Da Paz & Harry Allen / Maucha Adnet at The Chamber Jazz Society of Baltimore
October, 5th & 6th Nilson Matta and Brazilain Voyage Quartet featuring Harry Allen (sax) at the Kitano, NYC.
October, 11th With Anne Drummond at Cachaça, NYC
October, 11th with Joe Carter at Housatonic Community College, Bridgeport, CT
November 11 to 18 Nilson Matta Caribbean Jazz Cruise Festival
November, 20th thru 22nd Osaka Chamber Music w/ Nilson Matta Osaka, Japan
November, 30th With Ray Vega & Jovino Santos at Symphony Space, NYC
December, 3rd w/ Vic Juris & Marc Morganelli at Turning Point Cafe Piermont, NY
December, 5th With Joe Carter at United Congregational Church Brdigeport, NJ
December, 7th & 8th Nilson Matta & Brazilian Voyage Trio at Shanghai Jazz Madison, NJ
December, 10th With Joe Carter SH Universtiy Bridgeport, CT
December 17th Nilson Matta at Joe's Pub, NYC Green Heart CD Release Party
December, 27th thru 31st With Trio da Paz at Jazz Standard Club, NYC
2006:
Brazil Tour with Trio Da Paz September 23/24 Festival Tudo é Jazz Ouro Preto - Minas Gerais São Paulo Sept. 27 at Tom Jazz Rio de Janeiro, 28.29 and 30 at Mistura Fina
October 4 New York/Cornellia Café with, Mark Weinstein Quartet. Nilson Matta, Rogerio Boccato & Helio Alves
Oct. 6 and 7 Estia Cantina/Long Island with: The Dynamic Duet Nilson Matta and Helio Alves
New York at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola from Oct 10 till 15 With Trio Da Paz + Harry Allen, Maucha Adnet and Joe Locke
Oct 23 Cresskill Perform Arts with, Helio Alves and Ed Uribe
Oct 23 Cresskill Perform Arts With, Helio Alves and Ed Uribe
Oct 26 till Nov 3 Taiwan Tour With Trio Da Paz
Columbus Ohio Denison University 4, 5 and 6 W/ Trio Da Paz
Shanghai Jazz/ Madison - NJ Nov. 18/19 2 Sets: 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM
Shanghai Jazz/ Madison - NJ Nov. 18/19 2 Sets: 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM Nilson Matta Quartet with: Anne Drummond - flute Don Friedman - paino Anthony Penciotti - drums
The Kitano - New York Dec. 1st & 2nd Park Avenue & 38th St. 2 sets: 7:30 PM and 9:15 PM Nilson Matta " Brazilian Voyage Trio" with: Helio Alves - piano Marcello Pellitteri - drums
The Kitano - New York Dec. 1st & 2nd Park Avenue & 38th St. 2 sets: 7:30 PM and 9:15 PM Nilson Matta " Brazilian Voyage Trio" with: Helio Alves - piano Marcello Pellitteri - drums
Regatta Bar/ Cambridge - MA Dec. 28/29/30 with: Kenny Barron & Trio da Paz posted by Nilson Matta @ 5:16 PM 0 Comments:
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-"Matta has both subtlety and power. The disc merits a listen focusing on the bass: It becomes the band’s center, the other instruments decoration for the thick pulse and accents – most marvelously on the centerpiece and highlight “Bachiao.” Collaboration between players of this caliber is, of course, good for everyone involved. “Live at JazzBaltica” is the sound of four virtuosos having a blast even as they try to upstage each other. Their musicianship can overwhelm – hearing every note of every solo is nigh impossible – but it’s a joy to listen to.” Michael J. West - JazzTimes Magazine (April 2008)
- "Those rhythmic quibbles aside, the trio is a tremendous setting for guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Nilson Matta, and Locke’s rippling and popping vibes work is a highlight on Matta’s “Copacabana” and Lubambo’s “Bachiao.” James Hale - Downbeat Magazine (April 2008)
Nilson Matta with Joe Henderson
Nilson Bass Solo
Nilson with Yo Yo Ma
Nilson Matta with Chico Buarque de Hollanda @ Teatro Bandeirantes / 1974
Matta with João Bosco in 1978
Nilson Matta - Crystal Cicle Trio
Nilson Matta - Vick Juris - Anthony Pinciotti
Don Pullen And African-Brazilian Connection
Quote:
“Nilson Matta is a powerhouse bass player” – Down Beat Magazine
Green Heart / By Nilson Matta - Sapequim Publishing
JAZZIZ - MARCH 2008 GREENHEART CD Review / JAZZIZ - March, 2008
" Matta, a founding member of the renowned ensemble Trio da Paz, is joined by fellow trio member and guitarist Romero Lubambo on two self-penned works. The two master musicians engage in rhythmically fertile and harmonically intricate interplay that flows effortlessly and unfolds hypnotically." Mark Holston
Green Heart By Nilson Matta
December 6th 2007
Matta's trio with brio likes songs about Rio by Zan Stewart, Star-Ledger Staff Thursday December 06, 2007, 11:00 PM
2004 STAR-LEDGER FILE PHOTONilson Matta plays his bass at a 2004 tribute to Brazilian songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim. Matta will play Jobim songs like "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Corcovado" this weekend at Shanghai Jazz in Madison. Nilson Matta's Brazilian Voyage Trio. When: Friday and Saturday, 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Where: Shanghai Jazz, 24 Main St., Madison. How much: No music charge. $20 minimum at tables on Friday, $30 on Saturday, $10 at the bar both nights. Call (973) 822-2899 or visit www.shanghaijazz.com. What else: Matta plays with Trio da Paz Dec. 27-31 at the Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St., New York; $30-$195 music charge, no minimum; (212) 576-2232; www.jazzstandard.net. Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joe Henderson, Yo-Yo Ma, Kenny Barron and Claudio Roditi -- the bold-toned, musically flexible Brazilian bass ace Nilson Matta has played with all these masters. And many more.
Matta is a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who has lived in the United States since 1985 and now resides in Cresskill, Bergen County. He has recorded and toured with each of those greats, save Jobim -- the famed Brazilian songwriter of such classics as "The Girl from Ipanema."
"I was working at the Club 21 in Rio de Janeiro in 1970, and he came and sat in," recalls Matta, who prefers not to state his age. "So I say I worked with Jobim that night and that I am still working with him, since I play his music on every gig. You can't avoid him."
Matta leads his Brazilian Voyage Trio Friday and Saturday at Shanghai Jazz in Madison. Among the Jobim numbers on tap will be "Ipanema" and "Corcovado."
"Not only is the melody of 'Corcovado' beautiful, but the harmonic structure is so rich," says Matta, whose Web site is www.nilsonmatta.com and whose latest CD is "Walking with My Bass" (Blue Toucan). "The song always provokes us to develop new phrases and ideas."
Matta's trio, which includes pianist Klaus Mueller and drummer Marcello Pellitteri, will also play evergreen standards such as "But Beautiful" with a Brazilian rhythm, and originals like "Bossa for Copacabana," dedicated to Rio's famed beach.
"When I moved to Rio, I lived near Copacabana," says Matta. "It's an incredible, beautiful beach, very romantic. I met a lot of people on that beach, including my wife, Luisa."
Matta, from a musical family, began to play bass at age 10, picking out a ¾-size instrument when he went with his mother to a Sao Paulo music store. "I saw the bass, then touched the strings, and heard that sound, so fat and beautiful," he recalls. "I fell in love."
At 14, Matta started playing in Sao Paulo clubs with people like the famed composer and instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, with whom he later played in a quartet with equally noted drummer Airto Moreira.
The mostly self-taught Matta caught the height of the bossa nova craze in the early to mid-1960s, working through the mid-1980s with stars such as João Gilberto, Chico Buarque and João Bosco.
Matta traveled to the United States with his longtime friend, guitarist Romero Lubambo, and connected with another Brazilian colleague, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. They began to work and decided to form a band, for which Matta came up with the name Trio da Paz (Trio of Peace), "because we live in peace, and all the time having fun," he says.
The band now has five CDs, and backed Barron on his "Canta Brasil" Sunnyside CD. The pianist will join Trio da Paz for part of its Dec. 27-31 engagement at the Jazz Standard in New York.
Of his life in music, Matta says, "I'm blessed, having been surrounded by so many great musicians."
Zan Stewart is the Star-Ledger's jazz writer. He is also a musician who occasionally performs at local clubs. He may be reached at zstewart@starledger.com or at (973) 324-9930.
JAZZREVIEW.COM http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-18614.html Featured Artist: Nilson Matta & Friends CD Title: Walking With My Bass Year: 2006 Record Label: Blue Tucan Music Style: Brazilian Jazz / Brazilian Pop Jazz
Review: Here's another one for the Great-Music-That-Might-Go-Unnoticed department. Bassist Nilson Matta is not exactly a household name but he is a musician's musician. Originally from Rio de Janiero but now resident in New York, Matta's discography includes work with, among others: Herbie Mann, Nancy Wilson, Paquito D'Rivera, Paul Winter, Oscar Castro Neves, Claudio Roditi, Luiz Bonfa, Charlie Byrd, Helio Alves, Joe Carter, Sadao Watanabe, Eliane Elias, Kenny Barron, Carlos Barbosa Lima, Aloisio Aguiar, Vincent Herring, Joe Henderson, Mark Weinstein, Don Pullen, oh--and Yo Yo Ma. He is also a member of the highly-regarded Brazilian Jazz Trio Da Paz, along with guitarist Romero Lubambo and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. For his first recording under his own name he has pulled together a remarkably diverse group of musicians to create an album that probably shouldn't work. But it really does. It is usually a reg flag for me when I see totally different personnel listed on each track of a recording; I expect a set with no continuity. Why that is not the case here is a bit of a mystery. The first track suggests instrumental Brazilian jazz, with trumpeter Riditi combining with flutist Drummond to create a bright ensemble sound over a crisp rhythm section, interspersed with Juris' slightly sardonic guitar, as they interpret Moacir Santos' composition. I would love a whole album by this ensemble but they are not heard again until a performance of Matta's own "Bossa for Copacabana" later in the album. But no matter, the change of pace is instant and refreshing as Rosa Passos appears for a delightful "Samba Sem Você," accompanied by her own guitar plus bass and percussion. No sooner have we settled into the Brazilian vocal mode, however, than there is another change of pace and we are confronted by Ellington on the harmonica--Mauricio Einhorn's "A Train." There is more lovely vocal music to come, Ivan Lins, Joyce Moreno, Filó Machado, Joao Bosco, but in between we hear "Berimbau" in piano trio (plus percussion) format with Matta joined by Kenny Barron, Jeff Tain Watts and Jorje Silva. Next we are back in vocal mode with Joyce Moreno and her husband Tutty on drums, but instead of purely Brazilian repertoire, she sings "I Only Have Eyes For You," with a Bossa Nova interpretation, of course. Einhorn now returns with "Smile," through which Charlie Chaplin enters the jazz cannon! "Here's That Rainy Day" brings more Kenny Barron, at the top of his game, while "Night And Day" gives us a chance to hear from Anne Drummond again, along with a distinctly Getz-like Allen. Finally, Victor Brasil's up-tempo "Creek," not heard on record since Airto Moreira's first recording, has more Drummond and some fleet piano work from Alves as the album closes on even brighter note than its opening.
The glue that holds all this together is Nilson Matta–his bass, his concept and his Rolodex! The latter because these are all–with the exception of Jeff Tain Watts–musicians he has worked with before, both in the US and Brazil. It is a measure of their respect, and affection, for him that they wanted to contribute to his recording. It is his respect for them, and for the artists whose compositions he has chosen–such as Santos, Chaplin and Brasil–that has informed the concept for the record. And it is his bass playing, with a big, full sound, faultless intonation and unerring sense of time, reflecting his influences from Mingus to Paul Chambers, Ray Brown and Ron Carter, that provides the underpinning for each artist and the continuity of the whole. If there is one problem with the album it is that Matta's informative notes are hard to read.
Nilson is one of the performers on Nancy Wilson's Turned To Blue that just won the Grammy for best Vocal Jazz Album. Walking With My Bass should be nominated in the best Brazilian, or Latin, Jazz Album category. It's that good.
Tracks: Nanã, Samba Sem Você, Take the a Train, Atlantida, Berimbau, I Only Have Eyes for You, Bossa for Copacabana, Perfume de Cebola, Smile, Jade, Here's That Rainy Day, Day and Night, Creek Musicians: Nilson Matta (bass), Claudio Roditi (trumpet), Anne Drummond (flute), Vic Juris (guitar), Helio Alves (piano), Paulo Braga (drums), Rosa Passos (guitar & ocals), Waltinho Anastacio (percussion), Mauricio Einhorn (harmonica), Duduka da Fonseca (drums), Ivan Lins (piano & vocals), Leonardo Aumoedo (guitar), Theo Lima (drums), Kenny Barron (piano), Jeff tain Watts (drums), Jorje Silva (percussion), Joyce Moreno (guitar & vocals), Tutty Moreno (drums), Filó Machado (guitar & vocals), Jorje Silva (percussion), Robertinho Silva (drums), Joao Bosco (guitar & vocals), Guilherme Monteiro (guitar), Paulo Braga (drums), Kenny Barron (piano), Jeff Tain Watts (drums), Harry Allen (tenor saxophone)
Record Label Website: http://www.bluetoucanmusic.com Artist's Website: http://www.nilsonmatta.com Reviewed by: Peter Westbrook
INTERVEW MARCH 2007
Nilson Matta Interview by Eric Nemeyer Jazz Improv’s Magazine
NM: I started playing the bass when I was nine and half years old, where I was growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil. My mother played piano, and played a lot of Debussy, Ravel, and Bartok. I always mentioned to her that I liked the chords and what she was plying in left hand. She said “You like the bass a lot.” And I said, “Yeah, mom, you got it. I like this part of the piece a lot.” My brother was a drummer. In the corer, against the wall, I saw a huge bass – an upright bass. So I told my mother that I had already picked my instrument. I’m a self-taught. I started playing with my brother’s band. We played music for dancing. I started to learn some rock and roll. The first bass line I learned was on the blues that came from R&B. Back then, I listened to Ray Conniff, who had a trumpet player named Billy Butterfield. There is one song that has a bass line that starts on a high note and descends, it is descending major scale (sings). I said, “Man, this is unbelievable.” So I tried to absorb that sound – because I couldn’t understand scales at that time. Then I discovered the triads and the scales – through those players. When I was 20, I decided to go to the University, the Conservatory of Music in Rio de Janeiro. I studied classical music for two years, and played in the orchestra. They offered me a job in the opera house. I said “well, let me see.” During those long concerts, the bass only played few notes, I was going to wind up continue more measures than I was actually going to play during a concert. So said, “No. This is not fun.” Before that I spent a lot of time playing with bands, and having fun. When I was only fourteen, people were already calling me to play in night clubs, and to record. I played with Hermeto Pascoal. He taught me a lot. So, I consider myself a lucky guy. At that time, in Brazil, we didn’t have access to books or tapes or nothing. You discovered things by yourself.
JI: Were you able to find jazz records in record stores?
NM: I had a friend, a Chinese man, Thomas Lee. He was a clarinet and sax player. He introduced me to some jazz albums. I picked up some of the names so I could findings records myself – like Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Herbie Man – who at that time released a Brazilin album. I got the album and thought, “this guy has got some energy.” I liked Herbie at that time – not that he was the best flute player in the world. But he had some affinity for Brazilian rhythms. When I moved to New York in 1985, I actually had a chance to play with Herbie Man. He hear me play at SOB’S in New York, and he said, “you have to play with me. I have a bunch of gigs.” Later, he produced an album for Trio da Paz called Black Orpheus. I recorded with Herbie on two or three albums – Live At The Blue Note among others. It was great band, and he took care of the musicians very well. But, it was Scott LaFaro who changed my life completed. The soul and you follow the counterpoint… it’s the way I play today. I never tried to imitated anybody though. I just listen to an entire group together and try to absorb the feeling and the meaning of the music. Another album that got me into the music was an album by vibraphonist Milt Jackson with Paul Chambers on bass. The only play blues. After only hearing blues lines in a rock blues setting, this was amazing and inspired me.
JI: Did you move from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro because there was more opportunity in Rio?
NM: No. Actually, both cities are very important in Brazil. The music is happening all of the time in both places. Rio is beautiful geographic location – with the mountains and the each. The music is Samba – which for me means Rio de Janeiro…. So unbelievable the way developed the rhythm, and play it throughout the whole country. Brazil is a huge country. But, the reason that I moved to Rio is because I got married to carioca woman. Carioca are people from Rio de Janeiro. My first son was born there. I met my second wife Luisa, there in 1977 – and we are together to this day.
JI: Could you talk about how this music presents you with the unlimited horizon for a lifetime of growth?
NM: I always try to find things that I really like. I never follow something just because people say it is good or not. And, that’s not because I know everything. But, by following my heart, I relate with sincerity, purity and love. When I was in Brazil, I used to practice four, five, six hours every day, with my bass—scales and everything. Around 1980, I started to play every night in a piano bar in Rio de Janeiro. I chose to play only instrumental music—not because I don’t like singers. I want to contribute to the evolution and the history of our music. After that, I got a gig in Japan for eight months with a singer, Lisa Ono. Her husband was a piano player and we played in jazz Clubs all over Japan. When I was there I saw great players from America playing—Eddie Gomez, Michael Brecker, Hank Jones. And I thought, ”I have to go to New York and stay there to see what’s happening.” So I grabbed my wife Luisa and my bass, and my friend Romero Lubambo, the guitar player. I said, “ let’s go and see what’s happening.” He also wanted to go to New York. I sold my car, my phone… lots of things… and we came to New York. We rented a house in New Jersey in 1985, just to stay here for two or three, or four months, to see what’s going on—to go to jazz clubs, hear some good music, see people play. As soon we got here, we called drummer Duduka Da Fonseca and he was very nice with us, and said ”Man, I got a gig for you that I cannot work—just kind of jam session with a flute player.” So I said Let’s do it. So we got a taste of playing in New York. Astrud Gilberto was at the gig, and she hired Romero Lubambo to play with her right away. My friend Guilherme Franco, the percussionist, connected me with Gato Barbieri—and Gato said, “ You got the gig. You want to stay?” So we got our working visas, and we stay here. Now we have a green card.
JI: What kind of advice or encouragement have you received from your mentors or heroes?
NM:I was working with Yo Yo Ma I 2003, 2004. He told me that it technique doesn’t matter as much being able to put your hands on your instrument, and to project a beautiful sound, regardless of whether you are using you finger or approach or another. If people like it that’s what’s important about the music. If you looking around, every bassist, for example holds the bass differently, a different position—and some of them can play things that make you cry because it is so beautiful… because it is so natural and so pure.
JI: How do you maintain your incredibly positive attitude and enthusiasm?
NM: Back in the 1960’s, when I was little, I decided not to play with bad people, that is, people with bad attitudes, or dark souls. But it is hard to maintain that. Sometimes you play in situations where you might not know the other people who are the sidemen in the band. If you choose, you conduct your musical life in ways that enable you to be paid properly, get the right money and compensation, and also focus on being in a good environment, with good spirit, and get something spiritual from that music you are going to play, or people you work with. It’s important to concentrate on good and positive things. Concentrate on the music you playing. Concentrate in your instrument. Try to do your best and have a positive attitude like some of the artists I’ve worked with: Romero Lubambo, Harry Allen, Kenny Barron, Don Pullen…
JI: Tell us about work with pianist Don Pullen, who, of course played with Charles Mingus.
NM: Don pullen had some attitude, but in different way. He was a very intelligent man I worked with him, and learned from how to play both free and in side without losing the concentration, the love. I learn from all of the great players that I have played with since I came to the United State—Gato Barbieri, Don Pullen, Herbie Mann, Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Slide Hampton, Mark Murphy, Yo Yo Ma, Kenny Barron, Don Friedman Trio Da Paz and many more.
JI: Could you tell us about the various projects with which you re involved.
NM: I have put together the Nilson Matta- Brazilian Voyage band with Helio Alves on piano and Anthony Pinciotti on drums. We’ll be plying at The Kitano, March 30-32. I plan to record the next album, including a variety of musicians, for Blue Toucan Label. That’s the label released my current album, Walking with my Bass. Another project is the Crystal Circle Trio with Vic Juris on guitar and Anthony Pinciotti on Drums. We’re going to record this trio soon. A third project is with tenor saxophonist Harry Allen. One of the gigs with Trio da Paz feature Harry Allen, when we were in Taiwan last summer. I put a clinic together there which feature the two of us, and the named it Bass/Tenor Summit. We enjoyed playing with each other. He really knows how to play those Brazilian standards. He also has a crystal sound-a very beautiful sound, like Stan Getz. It’s an honor to connect with him. We decided to continue with the duet. By the way, when we were in Taiwan, we play four concerts during the ten days. One concert we played was for about 10,000 people, on a big plaza. They love Trio da Paz there, and it is our second tour in Taiwan.
If you want to visit me at my myspace: Check me out!
Nilson has provided presentations for a wide range of audiences and professional musicians. His workshops are molded to reach and help a high level of professional musicians and college students as well. That results in a full knowledge of how to play technically in all styles and also a better understanding of Brazilian culture and music. The clinic can be for ansembles or individual insrumentalists.
The high level of professionalism that Nilson gives to his workshops provide a first hand look at true artistry. Nilson has been teaching workshops and Master Classes for the past 10 years at Bass Collective in New York City, Montclair University in New Jersey and Master Class in Asia, Europe and USA.
NILSON MATTA and Tenor Saxophonist HARRY ALLEN are also available for Master Classes and Clinics.
Together they have BASS/TENOR - SAMBA/JAZZ. This Master Class/Clinic involves explanations, examples and teaching about playing and improvising Jazz, Samba and Bossa Nova styles.
After the success of their Master Class in Taiwan in the summer of 2006 they decided to continue working together as a Duet. There is a great interaction and affinity of Brazilian and American music. The beauty of the sound from the bass and tenor and their personalities result in a perfect combination.
Contact Nilson Matta for Workshop/Master Class/Clinic at nilson@nilsonmatta.com
