In admiration: Matt Smiley

 I was so happy to read this fantastic article about my former student and friend forever, Matt Smiley:

Matt Smiley: Riding the Waves of Free Jazz

Matt graduated from JMU in 2007, he took a number of classes with me, but most importantly, he spent several years as the bassist in my trio on a weekly club gig in downtown Harrisonburg, VA.  When he started playing with me, he was not really ready for the gig.  But whatever he lacked in knowledge and experience, he made up for with giant ears and boundless enthusiasm for the music.  I pushed him very hard on the gig, often giving him extended solos and challenging him to "find a new gear" as we took the intensity higher and higher.  I was able to watch him grow up in the classroom and on the bandstand.  It remains one of the most memorable chapters of my career.

Five years after he left Harrisonburg to begin his career in Colorado, he invited me to record an album with another wonderful JMU grad and alum of my trio, Matt Coyle,  their fellow JMU alum trumpeter, Josh Reed,  and Colorado guitarist Ryan Fourt.  I count this album as one of my finest recordings.  To share the studio with former students who had become very much my equal was unforgettable.  It is important to note that Brother Smiley treated me in a thoroughly professional manner, flying me out, setting me up with a very nice hotel room, food and drink, and he paid me my normal recording fee.  There was also beautiful fellowship and meaningful conversations that still resonate in my mind.

The album earned 4.5 stars in allaboutjazz and you can read the review here.

I remember the moment that I realized that Matt Smiley was going to be something very special.  He was in my advanced improvisation class at JMU, performing a transcription of an unaccompanied bass solo by Dave Holland - I'm pretty sure that it was Solar.

As he started playing, I thought that the cd player must have stopped.  His eyes were closed and I didn't want to stop him, so I got up and looked at the stereo.  To my surprise, the cd was playing normally.  Matt had learned every nuance of this solo so perfectly that his tremendous bass sound completely covered the album as it played on the large sound system in the classroom.  My eyes widened as I sat back down and listened with my full attention.

Matt demonstrated the true art of transcription better than any other student that I have ever witnessed (no offense to my many wonderful students!).  It isn't about the notes, or certainly not the notes alone.  His huge fundamentals on the bass, his attention to articulation, to intonation, to phrasing, and most of all, to THE ENERGY of the recording elevated his understanding of music.  Not just that one particular recording, but all music.  I have told this story many times.  I witnessed a transformation in his musicianship that turned into an unstoppable freight train.  He was indeed "riding the wave."

There is a wide misunderstanding about so-called free jazz musicians.  The modern free jazz artist must have a level of musicianship that equals any other virtuoso in any other style.  They must also be capable of instantly imagining and creating in real time, reacting to the environment, all while allowing the music to rise and fall as organically as possible.  Once a free improvisation begins, it flows like a river.  The greatest free artists give life to an idea that becomes a living thing.  They must feed the idea without unduly influencing its evolution.  Free music rises from the air, tells a story, and comes to an end.  It is a most exhilarating experience and it can only reach the ultimate heights when the musicians subdue their egos and submit to the integrity and momentum of the original idea.

It goes without saying that I have great love and admiration for Matt Smiley.  He has become a complete artist and scholar, all while remaining a kind and generous human.  His friendship means the world to me and he reminds me of the incredible privilege that teaching has given me over the years.  Matt will soon be completing a doctorate and I imagine that some university will be incredibly lucky to hire him.  He is a shining example of the performer-composer-improviser paradigm that is so important to the new generation of musicianship in higher education.  He is leading the way and I can hardly wait to see what the future holds for him.

Keep riding that wave, my brother.  💜💛💜💛