Matana Roberts
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Matana Roberts (born 1975[1]) is an American sound experimentalist, visual artist, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, composer and improviser based in New York City.[2] They have previously been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), and a member of the B.R.C. Black Rock Coalition.[3][4]
The works in their multichapter Coin Coin project have received wide acclaim: Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres was named in multiple JazzTimes 2011 Critics’ Lists;[5] Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile was called "stunning" by both the Chicago Reader[6] and SPIN;[7] and Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee was named among Rolling Stone's Best Avant Albums of 2015.[8] Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis has garnered their greatest accolades, and was included in Pitchfork's Best Experimental Albums,[9] Bandcamp's Best Jazz Albums,[10] and the top ten of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll in 2019.[11] Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop called the album "one of the decade's most compelling jazz projects".[12]
The annual DownBeat Critics Poll has named Roberts Rising Star in both the alto saxophone[13] and clarinet categories.[14] Roberts received a Doris Duke Impact Award in 2014 and a Doris Duke Artist Award in 2016.[15][16]
Early life and career
Born in 1975 in Chicago, Illinois, Roberts was raised partly on the city's South Side and studied classical clarinet during their youth.[3] They formed a trio, Sticks and Stones, with bassist Josh Abrams and drummer Chad Taylor, with whom they regularly performed at the Velvet Lounge.[17] In 2002, Roberts moved to New York, initially busking in subways and publishing a zine, Fat Ragged, about their experiences.[17]
Roberts is the composer of Coin Coin, a multichapter musical work-in-progress exploring themes of history, memory and ancestry.[18] Roberts performed at the London Jazz Festival in 2007.[19] In 2008, Central Control released Roberts' The Chicago Project.[20] The album, produced by Vijay Iyer, includes performances by members of Prefuse 73 and Tortoise along with AACM saxophonist Fred Anderson.[21]
They have previously been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).[3]
In January 2010, Roberts was the guest curator at The Stone.[22] Roberts was chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in Minehead, England.[23] Roberts held a residency at the Whitney Museum of American Art in the summer of 2015, during which they produced a series of research-based sound works entitled i call america.[24] The following summer, they had a solo show at the Fridman Gallery entitled I Call America II that was presented as an expanded version of the Whitney exhibition.[25]
Awards
- 2006: Van Lier Fellowship[26]
- 2008: The Jazz Journalists Association "Up and Coming Musician of the Year" nominee[27]
- 2013: Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award[1]
- 2014: Doris Duke Impact Award[15]
- 2016: Doris Duke Artist Award[16]
- 2017: DownBeat Critics Poll, Rising Star Alto Saxophone[13]
- 2018: DownBeat Critics Poll, Rising Star Clarinet[14]
Discography
Solo / as band leader
- Lines for Lacy (self-release, 2006)
- The Calling (Utech, 2006)
- The Chicago Project (Central Control, 2008)
- Live in London (Central Control, 2011)
- Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres (Constellation, 2011)
- Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile (Constellation, 2013)
- Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee (Constellation, 2015),[8] solo
- Always (Relative Pitch, 2015), solo
- Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis (Constellation, 2019)
- Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (Constellation, 2023)
As collaborator / side musician
- Sticks and Stones (482 Music, 2002)
- Sticks and Stones, Shed Grace (Thrill Jockey, 2004)
- DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, Bob Lark, Shade Street (Blue Birdland, 1999)
- Ras Moshe and the Music Now Society, Schematic (Jump Arts, 2002)
- Ayelet Gottlieb, InTernal/ExTernal (Genivieve, 2004)
- Matt Bauder, Paper Gardens (rec. 2006; 482 Music, 2010)
- Guillermo E. Brown, Handeheld (Melanine Harmonique, 2008)
- Exploding Star Orchestra featuring Roscoe Mitchell (/ Rob Mazurek), Matter Anti-Matter (Rogueart, 2013)
- Matana Roberts, Sam Shalabi, Nicolas Caloia, Feldspar (Tour de Bras, 2014)
- Matana Roberts / Savion Glover / Reg E. Gaines, If 'Trane Was (SG self release)?
- Matana Roberts / Pat Thomas, The Truth (Otoroku, 2020)
With Burnt Sugar
- Not April in Paris (Live from Banlieus Bleues) (TruGroid, 2004)
- If You Can’t Dazzle Them with Your Brilliance, Then Baffle Them with Your Blisluth (TruGroid, 2005)
- More Than Posthuman – Rise of the Mojosexual Cotillion (TruGroid, 2006)
- Making Love to the Dark Ages (LiveWired, 2009)
As guest artist
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yanqui U.X.O. (Constellation, 2002), on "Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls"
- Various artists, Juncture (Pi, 2004), with Vijay Iyer: "Imperium (Peace Prize/War Crimes)"
- Daniel Givens, Dayclear & First Dark (Aesthetics, 2005), on "Rolling Blackout"
- Savath and Savalas, Golden Pollen (Anti-, 2007), on "Te amo...¿Por que me odias?"
- TV on the Radio, Dear Science (4AD/Interscope, 2008), on "Lover's Day"
- Alexandre Pierrepont / Mike Ladd, Maison Hantée (RogueArt, 2008), on "Chamber 72"
- Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Kollaps Tradixionales (Constellation, 2010), on "There Is a Light"
- Deerhoof, Mountain Moves (Joyful Noise, 2017), on "Mountain Moves"
- Krononaut, Krononaut (Glitterbeat, 2020), on "Wealth of Nations," "Examen," and "Convocation"
References
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External links
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- Interview with Christopher Stackhouse in Bomb Magazine
- Pages with script errors
- Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts
- Pages with broken file links
- 1975 births
- Living people
- African-American jazz composers
- American jazz alto saxophonists
- Jazz musicians from Illinois
- Jazz musicians from New York (state)
- Musicians from Chicago
- Musicians from New York City
- 21st-century American saxophonists
- Constellation Records (Canada) artists
- RogueArt artists
- 21st-century American jazz composers
- 21st-century African-American musicians
- 20th-century African-American musicians