When Matt Rollings was a 17-year-old prodigy from Phoenix lighting out for the East Coast and the famed Berklee College of Music, he set his sights on becoming “the greatest jazz pianist of all time.” As it happened, his career took a slightly different turn. A chance gig and a series of calls landed him in Nashville, where before long he was an in-demand session musician. Fast-forward four decades and Rollings is a mainstay of the Nashville scene, with musician, writer, arranger, and/or producer credits on some 1500 albums, most of them by A-list country stars of the past half-century (and two of them winning GRAMMY awards), and collaborations with luminaries like Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Alison Krauss that run both long and deep. Playing and arranging with Lovett during the latter’s breakthrough years and beyond, Rollings helped form the offbeat star’s signature sound, where the Piney Woods of East Texas ring with gospel, blues, and swing.
Country isn’t the only terrain that Rollings treads, though. He’s had notable tours backing guitar legends Mark Knopfler and Larry Carlton, for instance, and you’ll find his name on records by artists representing all kinds of “Americana” (and more), from Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, and Blues Traveler to Bette Midler, Billy Joel, and The Chieftains. Still, you never forget your first love, and if Matt Rollings isn’t renowned as the greatest jazz pianist of all time, he’s no slouch, either—quite the opposite. He’s a stylish player with the light touch, the offhand cool, and the heart and wit of a Mose Allison or a Ben Sidran. And in the last few years, even as he left the fast lane of Nashville for the country lanes of NoHum, he’s also re-honed his jazz chops, releasing a soulful, swinging, piano trio record and a set of piano-drum improvisations in quick succession.
For this trio date—his Humboldt County coming-out—Rollings has invited two old friends and fellow session veterans. Bassist David Piltch hails from a well-known musical family in Toronto, where in his youth he backed up visiting American jazz stars like Art Pepper and Chet Baker before briefly joining Blood, Sweat & Tears, then embarking on a lengthy career that includes three albums as a leader and an extensive discography as a sideman (recurring dates with k.d. lang, Madeleine Peyroux, Bonnie Raitt, Loudon Wainwright III, Allen Toussaint, and one-offs with a host of others). He also plays on Matt’s 2023 The Valentine Sessions. Drummer Gary Novak, son of journeyman Chicago jazz pianist Larry, has a comparably broad résumé in jazz and pop, backing figures as varied as George Benson and Maynard Ferguson, Michael McDonald and David Crosby, and logging long, career-defining stints with Chick Corea, Alanis Morisette, and Jeff Lorber. These guys know their straight-ahead jazz, but they also know how to make it swerve. And if the convener of the trio made his name in “rootsy” country, then with Piltch and Novak he’s revisiting his own musical roots. (Adapted in part from Soul Country.net.)
Sponsors
We couldn’t present world-class artists at such low prices without the steadfast support of dozens of RJA members & sponsors, not to mention the community spirit of Arcata’s own dynamic arts agency, Playhouse Arts. Special thanks to Bug Press, the most steadfast of jazz allies, for its abiding generosity.
Additional support for this show comes from Cafe Brio, Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, John Helie & Monica Simms, and the North Coast Co-Op.