BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Jazz Center presents the Matt Wilson Trio in a concert honoring their founding director, Attila Zoller, on Saturday, April 13, at 8 p.m.
Matt Wilson is a highly acclaimed drummer who was particularly close to Attila. They performed together often during Zoller's final years. There was always a tremendous affinity between them; perhaps it was Wilson's deep groove, or his goofy yet powerfully confident persona that Zoller found compelling.
Hungarian born jazz guitarist Zoller was known as a lovable, brilliant man, but he was also someone who wouldn't tolerate anything less than the highest level of competence in the musicians with whom he shared the bandstand. Wilson is a drummer who could match Attila's gold standard: skilled, talented, groove-oriented and deeply connected to the lineage of jazz drumming.
Wilson leads several groups capable of presenting a concert imbued with wit, heavy swing, beauty and mastery; but for his show at the Vermont Jazz Center, he decided to emphasize his connection to Zoller by performing with musicians with whom they had previously joined the stage. He chose Fred Haas (saxophone and piano) and Dave Clark (acoustic bass).
Zoller was the founding president of the Vermont Jazz Center (1985) where he also taught music until 1998. In 1995, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts for his lifelong musical contribution to jazz. He also designed musical instruments; he patented a bi-directional pickup for guitars in 1971 and helped design his own signature line of guitars with different companies. He died in Townshend.
Since Zoller's death, this trio of Wilson, Haas, and Clark has maintained a close alliance. Each summer they serve as faculty for “Interplay,” a jazz workshop led by Haas. One of Zoller's endearing traits was that he loved to host concerts where lots of his friends would gather to perform and celebrate. All three members of this trio were welcome guests at these festive collaborations.
Together and apart, they joined in performances with Zoller at his famed musical birthday events, at his numerous moon-themed concerts (often organized by Joy Wallens-Penfield), or as members of the faculty of the Vermont Jazz Center Summer Jazz Workshop.
“Attila was this guy whose presence would change the energy of a place,” said Wilson in a recent interview. “I remember whenever we were hanging out, like going to Bradley's in New York - he'd walk in the door and the room would just light up! Everyone would say 'Ah, Attila's here!' Everybody loved him.
“I always seem to be drawn to people who are really open, and Attila was open to playing lots of different musical styles. Attila covered a lot of ground: he played great, he wrote great music, he was able to create community around him in a place that he loved. I want to present an evening of music that feature his melodies.
“We'll be playing a lot of his tunes without a chordal background so that the audience can actually hear Attila's beautiful songs in a different context [saxophone, bass and drums]. I'm calling the evening “From A to Z” [similar to Don Friedman's solo piano album where he performs Attila's compositions]. We'll play a bunch of tunes from different eras of his life. In general, I want to recognize his music and his spirit, not the guitar.”
Wilson, a New York-based Grammy Award nominee, has appeared on 250 CDs as a sideman, and has released nine as a leader for Palmetto Records, as well as co-leading five additional releases. He has performed with many legends of music such as Herbie Hancock, Dewey Redman, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Marshall Allen, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, and Hank Jones.