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Matt Nelson

After several years of hearing his dad playing the guitar around the house and of being enthralled with Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the virtuosic piano stylings of the late Johnny Costa on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Matt Nelson asked his parents for piano lessons at the age of 5. It was only a year later when he met lifelong friend and musical companion, future drummer and audio engineer, Matt Nischan. As kids, the two Matts spent hours jamming, attempting to pick out melodies and beats from current rock and pop songs and various Nintendo games by ear.

At age 13, Nelson hit an impasse with his piano studies and began studying jazz with pianist Tara Singer. It was with Singer that Nelson was introduced to the basics of the jazz language, as well as being introduced to Chick Corea’s Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, an extremely influential record for Nelson. Nelson continued studying with Singer through the end of his high school years. While in high school, Nelson also spent time studying drums and percussion, including vibraphone and marimba.

Directly after high school, Nelson and Nischan entered a long period of creativity and musical exploration. Both decided to attend the College of Lake County before leaving town for a university, and Nischan had purchased a home digital recording rig. The pair spent months writing and recording music at Nelson’s house; several of the tunes on Nostalgiamaniac were conceptualized at this time. Finally, in 2003, Nelson moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago. It was there where he met a core group of like-minded young musicians, some he has been collaborating with ever since (Aaron Koppel, Brad Dickert, Robbie Tucker, Matthew Santos, Sarah Marie Young). Nelson studied jazz piano and arranging at Columbia, developing musical skills and relationships that continue to be fruitful for Nelson’s career.

Currently, he can be found performing and recording with a multitude of artists and projects around the Chicago area. Matt regularly performs with Grammy-nominated artist Matthew Santos (who just released his latest album, This Burning Ship of Fools), rock phenom Graham Czach (also the bassist in the Matt Nelson Trio), jazz musicians Aaron Koppel (recently featured in Downbeat magazine), Tim Seissor, Shawn Maxwell, Sarah Marie Young, and Keri Johnsrud. He has also recorded and arranged for acclaimed hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco, and is planning on touring with Lupe’s band at Australia’s Big Day Out festival in January, 2011.

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Album Review

Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Bassist, composer and arranger Moppa Elliott's uniquely-titled nonet Acceleration Due To Gravity presents Jonesville a gravity- defying jazz odyssey. It pays a captivating homage to influential bassist Sam Jones by weaving a sonic tapestry which transcends the boundaries of conventional jazz. In this brief seven-track, twenty-one-minute outing, four compositions are by Elliott, with the remainder being Sam Jones' originals. The members of the octet who participated in this unusual musical excursion are trumpeter Bobby Spellman, trombonist Dave Taylor, alto saxophonist ...

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Album Review

Moppa Elliott's Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Whatever 'script renegade bassist/composer Moppa Elliot takes on a daily basis, he should be made to share with the rest of the world. Whatever that tonic, whatever that pill, whatever that gumbo scented elixir is, let us have it now. Elliot may not want to open up his private stash to the public, but he sure knows how to let it fly in the music he and his nonet--Acceleration Due to Gravity--put forth on the rightly raucous and ...

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Album Review

Grid: Decomposing Force

Read "Decomposing Force" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


A lot of recognisable names and musical micro climes run through the blood and wires of this aggressive three. Jimi Hendrix, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, pure punk, death metal . . . need more? So, expect a hard, twisted, mad metal assault when you confront Decomposing Force, the second release of riotous pandemonium from Brooklyn's noisiest noise trio Grid, featuring saxophonist Matt Nelson, bassist Tim Dahl and drummer Nick Podgurski. But there's a metallic, molecular coalescence ...

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Album Review

Matt Nelson Trio: Nostalgiamaniac

Read "Nostalgiamaniac" reviewed by Alex Marianyi


According to The Oxford English Dictionary, nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past," and a maniac is “an obsessive enthusiast." Chicago pianist Matt Nelson embodies both qualities on Nostalgiamaniac. The sentimentality of his ballad playing and the keen musical citation of past generations of jazz musicians clearly display the conversation he's having with his own past, and his dedication to music. Without losing momentum in his constant foray into modernity, Nelson ...

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Contest

Enter the "Matt Nelson - Nostalgiamaniac" Giveaway

Enter the "Matt Nelson - Nostalgiamaniac" Giveaway

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Chicago Sessions “Matt Nelson—Nostalgiamaniac“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on April 11th. Click here to enter the contest (Following Matt Nelson at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at Chicago Sessions About Matt Nelson After several years of hearing his dad playing the guitar around the house and of being enthralled with Michael Jackson's Thriller and the ...

“...compositions that cover a lot of ground stylistically, and improvisations that tower above those of most other twentysomething pianists. His writing makes unusually good use of rhythm and tempo to define his melodies; his soloing reveals a tremendous control of dynamics and articulation. His improvised lines expand and deepen through the use of internal rhymes and implied harmonies, and he uses his command of accents and ornamentation to turn a mere rendition into an actual arrangement... a glorious debut from a pianist worth watching.” --Neil Tesser, Examiner.com

"a tasty player with a penchant for uncommon lyricism" --Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jonesville

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2024

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Nostalgiamaniac

Chicago Sessions
2011

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