Seattle Jazz Vespers: Dmitri Matheny Quintet
Sunday, April 4 at 6:00pm
Michael Brockman—saxophones, Bill Anschell—piano, Phil Sparks—bass, Mark Ivester—drums, and Dmitri Matheny—flugelhorn
Celebrated for his warm tone, soaring lyricism and masterful technique, American musician Dmitri Matheny has been lauded as “one of the most emotionally expressive improvisers of his generation” (International Review of Music).
Matheny attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, then the Berklee College of Music, Boston, graduating magna cum laude in 1989.
After private studies with Carmine Caruso in New York City, Matheny became the protégé of the legendary Art Farmer, a formative relationship that lasted over a decade.
Farmer, “the bebop master who defined the sound of the flugelhorn in modern jazz” (All Music Guide), was Matheny’s public champion and private mentor. Generously sharing his wisdom, experience and influence, it was Farmer who encouraged Dmitri to devote himself exclusively to the “Big Horn.”
The soulful sound of Dmitri’s horn garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, drawing frequent comparisons to Miles Davis, Chet Baker and—not surprisingly—to Art Farmer. Upon Farmer’s passing in 1999, Matheny acquired his mentor’s copper-bell flugelhorn.
Today, Dmitri leads the Dmitri Matheny Group, “an all-star jazz band featuring some of the most accomplished musicians in the western United States” (All About Jazz).
Matheny has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He has traveled to 21 countries and has performed with many Motown and popular music acts including the Temptations, Martha Reeves, Fabian, the Four Tops, Bobby Vinton, Sandy Patty, Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and the O’Jays.
Matheny’s discography lists over 120 albums on which he appears as a composer, arranger, producer, annotator or flugelhorn soloist.
Dmitri Matheny is also a prolific composer and lyricist whose published compositions span the jazz, pop, symphonic, choral, chamber and world music genres. He has received premieres and commissions from Meet the Composer, St. Domenic’s Church, the Manhattan New Music Project, the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Jazz Composers Orchestra and 20th Century Forum.
Matheny’s film scoring and soundtrack credits include the PBS documentary Mary, Paradox & Grace (1996), the short film Greenhorn Creek (1997), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art production Voices & Images of California Art (1997), and the RKO Pictures feature film Shade (2003) starring Gabriel Byrne, Jamie Foxx, Melanie Griffith, Thandie Newton, Sylvester Stallone and Stewart Townsend. Matheny also contributed original music for the horror anthology Trapped Ashes (2006) and the supernatural thriller Fire City (2014).
Throughout his professional career as a concert and recording artist, Dmitri Matheny has distinguished himself as a dedicated educator, community leader and advocate for jazz and the arts.
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