Matt Brewer: "A Leading Bassist"

In an article about his recent Jazz Gallery residency, JazzTimes declares that Matt Brewer has "established himself as a leading bassist."Raised in Albuquerque, NM, Matt took to the bass early with encouragement from his father, Paul. The child prodigy was performing professionally on the local scene at the young age of twelve, and performed at the Grammy awards when he was just sixteen. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Matt completed two years at the Juilliard School before leaving to pursue his increasingly busy professional career. One of the most in-demand bassists on the scene, Matt has performed internationally with groups led by Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Steve Coleman, Ambrose Akinmusire, and countless others. His artistry was further recognized when he took third place in the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition.After years of performing at The Gallery in various configurations, we commissioned Matt as a part of our 2012 Composers' Series, Leading From the Bass (more info here). You can read two short interviews (here and here) that we conducted with Matt about his experiences, inspirations, and thought process during this period.Over the course of the residency, Matt developed a body of work he is likely to build on in his performance here this Friday. The group features similar instrumentation and collaborators to the one who premiered Matt's new works at the end of his residency: the saxophonists Steve Lehman and Kyle Wilson, the guitarist Mike Moreno, the pianist David Virelles, and the drummer Craig Weinrib.