Knox in the News

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January 20, 2011

Jay Talking: Knoxville native centerstage at the White House

Filed under: Community — Kristin @ 12:31 pm

From Galesburg.com Blogs:

Is there any better source for gossip and information than the barbershop or hair salon? My stylist Daniel Leahy at Strategic Hair Command tipped me off last night that Knoxville native and renowned jazz drummer Matt Wilson (pictured left) was performing Wednesday at the China State Dinner hosted by President Obama in the White House.

Sure enough, I got home and checked out the White House website to see Wilson was listed under the entertainment section on the official invitation for last night’s dinner. “An Evening of Jazz” concluded the state dinner and included performances by Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Herbie Hancock, Lang Lang, and Dianne Reeves. Wilson was performing with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is a nonprofit education organization established in memory of Thelonious Monk, the legendary jazz pianist and composer.

Attempts to reach Matt have so far been unsuccessful, but I did learn plenty about the former Knoxville resident through some internet research and from Daniel.

Here’s what Daniel, himself a well-known jazz musician, had to say about Matt Wilson:

“Matt plays with so many musical celebrities. He is getting a lot of recognition for being a brilliant musician globally.“Matt was recently here and did a clinic at Knox College and the Galesburg Public Library. The first time I played with Matt was at the old WDs when the Thursday night faculty and friends takes place for the Knox Rootabaga Jazz Festival. It was the year that pianist Benny Green was the headliner. I had played with so many drummers in my day but Matt, I would say, is the most melodic drummer of them all. He plays his drums with more than just rhythm in mind. And he doesn’t only use the heads of the drums, but also the hardware and anything else he can get his hands on that will generate a sound. Amazing!”

Matt’s bio on his website said: “I was born in the prairie town of Knoxville, Illinois September 27th 1964. I was lucky to have cool parents who encouraged me in my creative pursuits where it was music, theater, writing or weird art. I became interested in playing the drums in the third grade after seeing Buddy Rich on the Lucy Show.”