That list is long and diverse but I'll give you an idea, starting from the beginning it was my grandfather, (Little Joe) who played the Mississippi Delta Blues style. After him it was all the music and artists of Motown, Jimi Hendricks, Sly and the Family Stone, Santana, Rufus, The Meters, James Brown, Booker T. and the MG's, David T. Walker, Albert King, B.B. King, The Jackson 5, Tower of Power, Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind and Fire and just about everything that was on the radio in the 60's-70's. Later it was Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, Joe Pass, Phil Upchurch and lots of others.
Reminiscent of the past works of the great Joe Pass, the Count Basie Band Guitarist runs the gamut on this solo performance from Blues to Ellington/Strayhorn.
---
Those who know me have always heard me say that Big Will’s tone and phrasing is a perfect blend of George Benson, Grant Green, and Wes Montgomery, supported by his strong chordal concept, which, unavoidably, is pure Kenny Burrell (and why would anyone want to go around that?) In his own right, Will Matthews has accomplished a feat that few others dare—he has won two Grammy Awards with the Count Basie Orchestra, after holding the coveted Freddie Green chair from 1996 to the present day.
His debut CD, Solo, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim, and the audience has since been waiting for his return, long overdue as a solo artist. In the most beautiful sense, Will’s phrasing is downhill, leaning forward, he waits for nothing; there’s a real sense of urgency here—he’s gotta get it to ya’, and now! With respect to that sense of urgency, let me give you a thumbnail sketch of the swinging tunes you’re about to hear:
The appropriately titled, “Count on Swingin’” (I assume you get the inherent implication!) which finds Will blowin’ some mad blues riffs, even finding a way to insert Duke’s quote of “It Don’t Mean A Thing” while the cascade of boppish lines rain down—meanwhile, alto sax master Bobby Watson was sent as a true Jazz Messenger (‘77 to ‘81) to celebrate Will’s most recent jazz party.
“Corner Pocket,” an obvious nod to his Basie boss, which prominently promotes his mastery of the Freddie Green comping style, for which Will is literally the absolute best suited in the world today; “Can’t Help It,” which, is, unfortunately, so well-timed in light of the recent dimming of our brightest pop star, M.J.; and “Mikayla’s Song,” a beautiful chord-melody laid down over a bed of funk in honor of his daughter.
Then there’s “Up and At It,” which best displays Will’s deftness and dexterity in the hard bop tradition. But just dig the chattery talk that drummer Kenny Phelps is laying down! His graceful presence is fully felt not only here, but throughout the entire album.
Of course, you gotta have some blues, baby…and so Will’s licks on “The Grease” gets us all well-lubricated, yes? And, sure,
Will pays his respect to the great tradition of Miles with the sophisticated, yet cool jazz approach to the changes of “Old Milestones,” where Bobby Watson glides through like a summer breeze.
The legendary Hammond organ king Mel Rhynes makes his contribution to the collection with “Soul Changes,” and just listening to the gargle of that gargantuan instrument on the opening track reminds us all of the greatness that he lent to Wes for so many years.
Finally, “Where There’s A Will” is one of five Matthews original contributions, with such swing that allows no one to ignore the direct descent in the line of greats—Wes, Kenny, Grant, and George. And, of course, that’s the only way.
So what now?….Well, now there’s a Will.
---
BIOGRAPHY
Kansas City native Will Matthews is the guitarist for the world famous Count Basie Orchestra, joining the group in 1996 under the direction of trombonist Grover Mitchell to fill the coveted chair of the late legendary guitarist and composer, Freddie Green who was with the band for over fifty years.
Matthews has traveled and toured all over the world and has played on many studio recordings with the group, including two 'Grammy' winning recordings, Count Basie Orchestra Live at Manchester Guild in 1997 and Count Plays Duke 1999, as well as the 'Grammy' nominated recording Swing Shift in 2000
The Guitarist has played every major festival, concert hall and theatre in the world and has also had the opportunity to play one-nighters with a variety of artists coming through Kansas City such as Charles Earland, Freda Payne,
Arthur Prysock, Jimmy Witherspoon, Carmen Bradford, Kevin Mahogany, and Bobby Watson.
In 1996 Matthews was invited to perform at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, Thailand for King Bhumbibol, along with other members of the Basie Orchestra, Benny Carter and Frank Foster. In 1997 he performed with the group for President William J. Clinton's second inaugural.
During his tenure with the band Matthews has performed with a who's who of artists such as Joe Williams, Frank Wess, Curtis Fuller, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Cobb, Hank Jones, Rufus Reed, John Faddis, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Lou Donaldson, Dorothy Donegan, Tom Scott, John Pizzarelli, Regina Carter, Nancy Wilson, Patti Austin, Rosemary Clooney, Dianne Reeves, Nnenna Freelon, Marlena Shaw, and Ledisi to name a few.
During the 1950's and 60's the classic Hammond B-3 organ,
guitar, drums format emerged and has played a big role in the evolution of jazz music, and with the addition of the saxophone to the line-up augmenting it to a quartet, the sound became very popular with players ranging from Wild Bill Davis, Bill Doggett to Jimmy Smith. Most of the great jazz guitarists have recorded using this format as it seems that the guitar and organ go together like hand in glove and so I felt the need to be a part of the continuum of this great tradition with the release of my latest recording on the ARC label with the legendary organist from the Wes Montgomery Trio, Mel Rhyne and saxman Bobby Watson who was a member of the Art Blakey Jazz Messenger group and later formed his own groups, Horizon and the Live and Learn band.
Matthews also holds the guitar chair with the 18th Vine St. Big Band lead by Watson.
Hello, Will! I'm not a purist, but I love pure jazz :) So it's great pleasure to listen to your tracks, like "Where There's A Will", "Night And Day". And modern jazz? I love it too! "Wee Bop" is bright guitar piece... Rashid, guitarrist of R.A.J.B.
Online Now!
