Mathew Stevens, Grammy-Winning Jazz Guitarist, on His New Album

- Excellent, how are you doing?

“- I'm very good, so, where are you coming to us from?”

- I'm in a tiny little town between Providence and Boston, called Sharon Massachusetts, that I've been living in for the past four years now. - Okay, and you attended Berkeley as well, right?

- Way back when? - I did, yeah, I was there for three years, 2001 to 2004. - Okay, awesome, yeah, that's such a great area, and I love that whole area around there's,

it is really lovely Boston, of course, is great. It'll chilly the winter time, but, indeed, this one especially. - Yeah, exactly. So you're a very busy guy, you have a new single out, who does she hope to be, which came out February 13th.

We have a new album coming out on May 8th, which is self-titled, Matthew Stephens. You're Grammy Award-winning guitarist, also a great producer, very well-known producer, and session guitarist.

So, tell me about the new single and the new album. I know, also, so you have a lot of guests on this album too. - Yeah, well, the new single, who to show up to be, is off of a fantastic record by Sunny Shirak,

“called Ask The Ages, that I believe it's from 1991 or 92,”

and was produced by Bill Lazzwell. And it's a great lineup. It's Sunny with Ferro Sanders, Sharnet Moffitt and Elvin Jones. And it was a record that was brought to my attention

by an incredible drummer from Houston, Texas, named Jamiah Williams. And he had a bank all the airy-mage that was busy 15 years ago, we tour it a lot, and we used to play that song. And it was just like something that I connected to immediately,

and looked forward to playing every night. And it's a really musically transcendent record. And it felt like it was the perfect song that was a cover in terms of how it fit into the rest of the stuff that I was writing, you know?

It felt like it kind of just seamlessly fit into this stuff that I was finding myself arriving at for this record. And yeah, it features Jeff Parker, Sunny Layers, a bunch of guitars on this record. And so there are multiple parts,

and so Jeff is somebody who I've always admired,

and I've known for quite some time, and it felt like a natural fit to invite to play. And then of course, Terry Lynn Carrington's playing drums, and feels fantastic. It sounds really, really beautiful to me if I could,

if I dare say so myself, just with it's just so fun to listen to them all play. It's so wonderful to hear everybody. And yeah, I was really pleased with it. So yeah. Yeah, and I was checking it out last couple days.

And what I love about the style and the way that way that you put this together is it sounds very organic. It's not heavily over, it's not overly produced. It sounds like you're maybe a small club listening. Is that a style that you kind of gravitate to?

Is that something that you personally like? Well, yeah, I think so for this album in particular,

it was my first record in five years, and I had left New York

after being there for the better part of 20 years, moved to Boston to start teaching at Berkeley, went through a divorce, met my now-wife Sarah, a couple of years after that. And in the midst of all that, I think that you can't help

that sort of really re-examine every element of yourself. Yeah, re-evaluating life, re-evaluating it not only music, but just everything. Yeah, everything. And I think that, you know, and for me, it's really the,

“I think the best thing we can do is musicians and artists”

is to continue to work to be ourselves, you know? And which is not an easy thing to do. And so I think that through this album, it's my best attempt so far at presenting my taste and my perspective. And I think where that is now is very much in line with what you're saying.

It feels, it feels intimate and in the moment and in community with the musicians and something that's happening in real time. And so yeah, that record was by and large. I mean, there was a couple of people who, you know, did a couple of things remotely, but by and large there were, you know,

10 plus people coming in out of the studio in LA for three days. And it was all done live, you know? And yeah, not overly produced at all. I was just talking to the engineer earlier. And I mean, I was asking, I was saying, you know, what do we use them?

And he's like, well, it's really nothing. It's this, it's this, you know, need, need console that was built for a radio station in Austria in the late 70s.

And a nice mic closet, and that's really, you know, so.

Yeah, and it's, I mean, and you feel that. And it's, and it's actually people don't realize that it's pretty rare to get every, every musician in the room these days. Yes. It's not that, it's not that even on jazz albums where you think that aren't, they're all sitting there together.

They're not necessarily. So you definitely, you find that there's a very different feel when you're able to look across the room at the drummer. Look across the room at everybody and just, and really bond. Is that something that you really strive for?

“Absolutely. And I think that, you know, the, the working during the pandemic”

really solidified that for me, where I, where I was not, I, you know, I was happy to be, to have the time to, to, to practice and to, and, and to spend focused on music, but I, I, um, I really was not motivated to do a lot of remote recording. It wasn't exciting to me. And I, and it may be kind of clue into the fact that so much about what I love, um, in what we do is, is, is,

is the, the being with other people part. You know, there's, there's, there's nothing like, uh, being in the room with other people for me. And, and, and, and, um, that kind of mutual striving towards just all, throwing our head in and trying to sort of come up with something and create something that is greater than, you know, the, uh, the, uh, the individuals in the room.

And, and, and just, it's, there's nothing else like that.

“And I think that I, yeah, it's the communication, it's the vibe.”

I kind of rise, we have some of the old miles albums where you can hear him calling solos in the actual, as a recording. But I just, I absolutely love to, because it's so far removed from, like, pop recording where everything's clean and everything's, you know, so that, that really speaks to the heart of the music and the, and the solos of the music. Um, who were some of your early influences? I mean, I, I have guides, and I think you

probably were influenced by, but you tell me, who are you listening to as a young guitar player? Well, John McLaughlin or like the, yeah, obviously. So, I mean, you know, I, I, I started playing like so many people started playing guitar because I wanted to play the music that I, that, I loved at the, you know, which was like Nirvana and Sound Garden and stuff, you know?

And, and, yeah, all right, first of all, I wrote, Learn was smells like teensbeard and, and,

and, you know, and I would be, and that would be surprising to, to, to some jazz fans. But, but, you know, me as, for me, and I, I think, you sound like you're the same way music is music. If, if, if I hit, if it hits me, if it inspires me, I don't care what the title of it has.

“Absolutely. I think those things are, by and by are just constructs to categorize and sell records, you know?”

Oh, yeah. So, I mean, for, yeah, for me, it was, it was, the music that was, it was like woven into the culture that I was excited by and participating in as a young person and my dad was totally crazy for Jimmy Hendrix and lots of, you know, and, and, and a lot of, um, uh, and like out, you know, Albert Lee and Freddie King and, and, and help our James well, that stuff. And so, I was way into that stuff and then, um, you know, and then, I, I grew up in Toronto and there was like,

there's this great history of, of jazz guitar playing in Toronto. Amazing, amazing musicians and

amazing musicians in Toronto. And so I sort of got, in high school, I got interested in improvising and I, you know, I'd already had some some years into the guitar and so I wasn't going to, I was pretty committed to playing guitar. I wasn't interested in switching instruments. And so, it was like, oh, you want to learn to sort of improvise in this world of music. Hey, you can go see Ed Becker play on any, any given that of the week or something and it was like, and so, or Lauren Losky or

Rob Pilch, you know, and there were all these great musicians around and, um, you know, he was, he, he, he of course had had passed away by the time I was, um, around, but, uh, Leni Bro did there for a long time and I've often wondered if, if Leni Bro's, uh, influence sort of permeates the Toronto scene of guitar playing. I wonder if him and Ed were friends. I don't know, they have this way of playing that's really relevant. It's sort of a DNA thing where it's just kind of, you can't

almost kind of help me being influenced by great musicians. That's right. And so, I was really influenced by by those guys and, um, and then, of course, um, uh, of course, like, Pat, Bill Fuzzell, Scofield, we're, inescapable, um, great green with somebody that I really loved and connected to early on and that I learned a lot from, um, transcribing because it was like, it felt like this unbelievably direct and, um, really heartfelt and, and sincere and clear way of playing,

harmony in a way that felt like a great, um, entry point to, to playing, right? Right, not, not just ran a bunch of notes to something, it meant that means something. That's super. Yes. And so, and, and it was, it felt like a way into playing through more involved core changes and stuff. And so, uh, yeah, those people definitely jump a glove on, absolutely. And, uh, and yeah, I mean, Jim Hall was another

seem to be fewer, um, jazz guitarists in, in, uh, uh, who really, um, left like an indelible mark on, on the music as a whole, um, then there are, say, saxophone players, or drummers, or piano players. And so, and so, everybody, yeah, there's, there's the West Montgomery. There's, there's a handful of guys. I mean, even, I go about, why went to musicians Institute when Howard Roberts was,

“Howard Roberts was still there. And, which is actually, it's kind of a funny story, but I remember”

that was, there was a lot of rock guys that went to that school. And I remember Howard Roberts explaining chords, explaining music theory, and these guys are just looking around like, I have no, and he was such a genius guy. Like, it was, you know, but there, yeah, there's only a handful. You think of, you think of, well, I also, I love guys like Larry Carton. It's, um, you know, all those, that era of guys, that's, you know, and also Scotty Henderson, all the modern guys.

So, again, like, I kind of listen to everything about talking about funding your voice because that's, it's kind of hits on what you, what you just said. Finding your own voice on guitar, which is a challenge because there's a lot of guitar players, there's a lot of guys that play a lot of quick notes, but it's, for me, it's really about playing the right notes. Yeah. Talk about finding your voice and how, how you found, because you definitely have a style,

it's very specific. Um, well, I think it's something that's like, always evolving, you know,

and, and it's, it's certainly doesn't feel like something that's fixed, and I think that like, it's, it's something that I've had to, to think about and, and think about articulating in a different way, especially since I've, I've become a teacher as well, at Berkeley. And, and, you know, it's a, it's a question that you get asked a lot by aspiring musicians, and, and, um, and I think

“the, the best way that I know how to talk about it is that, um, I think that, and what I hear”

people who I've, who sound like, really, I deck, like, really identifiable to me, I think of them as, as artists who, who, um, just are really good at clearly conveying what they like in music, like what's important to them, what they're, what they're distilling it down. Yeah. They're still laying it down and being like, this is my taste. This is what I care about in music. This is what excites me in music. Um, and so I think that, uh, I think that that's really been my approach

thinking about, like, from the perspective as, as a, of a fan, like, what do I love? And, and, and, and, um, and trying to make sure that those are things, the things that I love as a fan of music are things that I, um, that I, uh, that are omnipresent and what I put out in my own work and they're, you know, what, um, so, um, I think that that's, that's, that's kind of the, the, the, been, been my process and continues to be my process, you know, and, and, and, because it's, and like I said,

it's this, it's this evolving shifting thing that it doesn't, it's certainly not like, uh, like,

um, something you go and kind of pick out at a store, you know, and go, uh, yeah. It's always changing.

It's like, yeah, it should be, right? That's, yes. As humans, we need to be evolving. You don't want to just plant, put out the same record every year and go, oh, well, here's another one. It sounds to say, but the last one. That's right, you know, that's, that's something that I, that, that I was talking to Terry Lin about recently where it's like, that's just such an exciting thing when you hear what, as a, again, as a fan of music and, and you're following artists that

you love and, and they put something out that just, it just feels different than the last thing that they did that just so, so some sort of, um, evolution and, and they continued searching and interest and, and, and, and, and, uh, striving for pushing out into other corners of, of, that's, that's,

“that's, that's, I think that that's like, uh, a wonderful thing and, and, you know, oftentimes,”

just like the most we can ask for from, from, from anyone including I say, all, you know. Yeah, and every, every choir is some bravery because it's, it's very easy to sit on the same

old thing that you've always done. It takes a lot more bravery to also mix it up with different

players, which is something I wanted to talk about. Yeah. Building, building that team around you, and you have a lot of great players on this album, but you've also played with a lot of great folks. How inspiring is that for you? And then also building the team, how, how, how, how is it been for you to really focus on that and find find really interesting players to work with? Well, I think that, um, I feel really, really, um, really, really lucky to have had a lot

of the opportunities that I've, that I've had and I've learned in the enormous amount from, you know, from really everybody that I've, that I've worked with. And, and, and taking different things from different artists, you know, and, and gone, oh, wow, that's a really great way to, to, to think about, putting a record together or to think about assembling a group of musicians, to, to play your music,

this record, um, is like he was my college roommate and somebody that is just, uh, my, my, one of

my oldest and dearest friends who happens to be an unbelievable musician who's played with everybody from, you know, winning ourselves to Chris Thielie to Julian Lodge, to Piccadour de Ravaries, he's been my Gelsen on his everywhere, and, and, and, um, and just the amount of, um, like, the, the short hand that we have and the, uh, the trust that we have and one another and, and, um, the, that shared, uh, that shared taste and perspective is, is something that I really, really value.

“Um, and I think that, um, uh, it's something that is, at different stages of development with”

different people on the album, you know, but they're all people I know and have worked with them different capacities and, as you, as you know, it's a small community, you know, and really,

like, everybody's kind of Chris, Chris Crossing and, and, and, and, and, and, and after

mangling and, and, and, uh, has had to add a certain level, I, I don't want to say everybody knows everybody, but it's kind of true, in a way, at the, at the elite, at elite level with jazz, pop, or really an idiom, um, and the other thing that you're very well known for as producing, and I know, I think it was the Doc Watson tribute with Dolly Parton, which you guys had a hit with that. Talk about producing, like, that's a different, obviously, a different hat,

but it's in the same arena, obviously, as music, um, how do you approach producing it, and, um, do you, is there a genre based idea behind that when you come into a project or doesn't matter?

“I think probably the opposite. I mean, that, that record in particular, um, my, the publisher that I”

work for, um, in, in Germany called Buddha, um, my, my rep there is a long time friend and works with Mitch Greenhill, who, who managed Doc for the majority of his career, and they were doing this centennial tribute, and, uh, I had this solo acoustic guitar record, uh, called Pittsburgh, that, that, uh, this, my friend Pierre slipped to Mitch and said, hey, I think that Matt would be, somebody to consider to produce this record, and, um, and, and Mitch, you know, is sort of

expressed to me that, um, he was into the idea because I was, I had, I have no, uh, nothing in the game in terms of, like, a bluegrass and, and country music and old-time music, and it was like, oh, yeah, they're not really, you're not really held to that genre, right? In no, and no way, and I wouldn't

know how to be if I tried. And so, and so, and he's likely, and, uh, yeah, and he would always joke that

the only people who were more like, who were more rigid than, you know, sometimes than, in the jazz musicians about what's got to be this way and that way are, are bluegrass musicians, whether that's, whether that's sure not, I don't know, but it's, uh, but he, but it, but we should say it, but it's amazing music. You can't, there's no, there's no, there's no big about it. No, absolutely, but he would just joke about about it and say, you know, so having somebody come in

that doesn't even know what, what rules you're sort of, you know, adhering to or breaking, you know, is, is, is could be interesting. And so, um, yeah, I, uh, I really, uh, like, I approached that, not from a genre perspective at all, but rather just kind of going, what are these songs, like, what is the essence of these, of, of these songs and, and, and, and boiling it down to it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, most, base form and, and handing it over to other guitar players in

the musicians that I know and, and love and trusting them to reinterpret it and, and, um, and, kind of just, a lot of oftentimes I was just, I was just there and would maybe suggest we do another take, you know, uh, like I was, I was sometimes kind of sometimes, sometimes it's important as a producer to stay out of the way. Absolutely. And I think that, you know, my, I mean, my approach has really just been that, um, it was kind of something that I realized that, that I was doing.

“And, and I think lots of musicians do do without, realize it, without realizing that that's what”

they're doing when you're just in a session and you're, um, you know, you're in a session and you're being asked your opinion about something, um, and, you know, if, if you're, given your two cents, I mean, you're essentially producing something, you know, you are in shape. Well, and also, also, people that are secure, musically as a producer, they want to surround themselves with people that are going to bring something more than just playing. That's right. Um, they, uh,

along with that as a musician, I mean, I know this personally, you have to know what to shut up. That's absolutely. But it's, I mean, you've learned that. It's like it's a given take and you've got to be really a student and read the room. Yeah. And, but good, good guys, great producers, they bring in those same, a lot of the same folks because they trust their opinion, right? That's right. And so I, I think that I, I felt like, oh, well, it's just, it's just, uh,

it's just sort of doing something that I've, that I've more or less been doing in different situations,

So, yeah. So, yeah, it's been, it's something that I really, I really, I really love, and in, I love being in the studio. I love being part of the, the overall, um, the overall and product of something. It's really, it's really amazing. Yeah. And it's, yeah, and it's part of it's just a connection kind of another part of the finger and the hands of what we do. It's nice to be able to, and it's nice to be able to have that kind of input at that level. Yes. And to really end

really drive a project with the vision. Um, yeah. And it's, it's all, and it's always a collaboration

that ultimately. Oh my god. Uh, absolutely. Yep. As you said, like a lot of the time, you're just, uh, yeah, it's just more making sure that people can be, you know, hey, when can you make it, you know, and like, what do you want for one? Sometimes it's, yeah,

“it's like hurting cancer. So, uh, so talk, so are you, are you currently teaching at Berkeley?”

I am. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. And that's, I mean, for people, I mean, I guess with most people would know that Berkeley is one of the top music schools in the world, and has been for many, many decades. Um, so not only, I mean, obviously you're a great player. You're surrounded by amazing musicians there, and I know some of the guys that teach there. Um, what are some of the things with young students? Not only guitar students, but just music students. What are

some of the really big points that you try to impart on them? Um, uh, music play, but also career-wise.

What are some, some things that you've learned along the way that you always kind of like,

okay, I've got to, I've got to let them know these like five points. Yes. I think that the headlines to me tend to be that regardless of what you are interested in, uh, genre-wise or whatever kind of corner of music you want to work in as an, as an instrumentalist or a vocalist or any, you know, any, any capacity that what has to be prioritized is your sound and your feel, and that, and that, I can't think of, um, for, for me, uh, I have a hard time thinking of any, any, any musician

that I, that I love a kind of across the board that doesn't have those two things, you know, and there are, uh, there are infinite ways to express those things, you know, a great sound and a great feel. There, uh, there are as many ways to do that as there are people. But, um, but it's hard for me

to think about musicians that I love in any, you know, in any corner of music that, uh, regardless

of what they're playing, that don't have those things and a lot of them, you know, and like, and, and, and, and are able to really clearly deliver that stuff. Yeah, and, and, and we, and you, you, I'm sure you've experienced this too, like, a lot of people think, oh, I have to be so good. It's like, good, yes, but the feel is often way more important than being the virtuoso player. Absolutely. And you see that there's, there's been several bands where the players individually were good players,

but they weren't virtuoso, it was about they created this other entity. Yes, and I mean, it also, but it also, to me, it also depends on how you define what it is to be a virtuoso, and what it is, and what, and what technique is, like, exactly. Well, it's not, to me, it's not,

“it's not speed necessarily, and, and it's, I mean, it's, uh, I think technique is,”

someone put it to me really, suitly a long time ago, which was it, it's, it's your ability to, to clearly put forth your ideas, you know, and, and, and I, that resonates with me, and I think that, yeah, having, like, great sound production, and, and a great feel is, is the highest metric of technique, to me, you know? Yeah, it's all about communication. Yeah, if you, if you just, somebody's hard, it doesn't matter what you play. That's right, indeed, absolutely. And, you know, and I think, um,

yeah, so that's certainly, that's certainly it, and I think the thing that a lot of, um, I find a lot of students struggle with, and I, I certainly recall struggling with myself was like, that there's often not like a, there's, you know, it's not a clear path forward in what we do, and, and different opportunities come your way, and it's, you know, it's your just job, it's your job to just make the most of them, and, and do that, and show up as your best self,

“and, and, and it'll roll into the next thing that it rolls into, but, um, it's, it's, I think it can be”

stressful to, to not know what's going to be next and what the next right thing to do is, you know, and, uh, it's, it's just so different than, then, um, then so many other career paths to do just much more prescribed in terms of sequence events. Exactly. Yeah, there's, and, you know, be nice, show up a time, yeah, you know, be sober, be in the moment. Yeah, it's all, all that, it's like, "This is what I want." And, yeah, and people people have often asked me like,

"Well, how did you keep working for 40 years of life? Does it be nice?" Show up, though, no, it'd be like, "It's really not hard." That's right. Yeah, that's right. Exactly. You know, um, do you have any live shows coming up, uh, or any kind of touring in the future? Yes. So, right now, I'm, I'm touring with Esperanza Spalding. All right. And, um, and Terry Lynn Carrington, um,

October and into the new year. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. And, I mean, Esperanza's just so great.

I, I just love what, I love what she does. Absolutely. It's been, that's been a really, um, important and, um, unbelievable musical collaboration for, for 10 plus years at this point, you know, like, wow. Yeah. And it's fun because the acts like that, like you're playing with them, but you also won't get to watch them every night. Which is, I mean, that's, which is, yeah, it's such a

privilege to be able to do that, right? Oh, it's unbelievable. I mean, there's this, we, you know,

“like, we've worked on, I think, six records together of, of hers and tour to ton and, you know,”

and she's, you know, included, included me and, and, uh, and you're some really interesting stuff that, like a couple years ago, we did a record with Milton Nassimento, um, and we just, we have a record coming out in March, uh, that we, that we, where we, that she produced, um, where her, a great journey in Justin Tyson and I are playing, um, with, uh, Joy Harjo, the, the poet, poet laureate, former poet, poet laureate, and that's a record that's coming out of its Smithsonian, and I think

“April is something like, so all kinds of really interesting stuff like that, too. Yeah, and, and she's just,”

you know, she's extremely generous with that, with those sorts of connections and, and it's been, it's been a, it's been a wonderful, a wonderful thing being in her musical orbit all this time. Yeah, well, that's a good life. I mean, that's a really good life, right? Yeah, and we, okay, cannot conflate. Um, awesome. Everybody, please check out the new single, which is out now, and that's really, it's really fun music. It's on Spotify, but obviously, all the other outlets.

The new single is who does she hope to be that came out on February 13th? Um, lots of great guests, as you mentioned. Um, the new album, the full album, "Self-title out. Matthew Stevens" is will be out on May 8th. It's on candid records. Again, with several special guests, and, as you mentioned, some that we haven't probably talked about, but, uh, so we keep those as a secret, for now. But, uh, Matthew, thank you for joining me. I, um, I really love what you do. I,

I love that you're keeping a really traditional jazz thing alive, but also expanding on that,

and, and it's amazing that I love that somebody with your background and your attitude,

“who's actually out there doing it in the world is also teaching. I think it's super important”

to have, have professors that are actually doing it. Thank you for having me, Dale, and for the invitation, I really appreciate it, and, uh, and it's been great to talk to you. Thank you. Hey, likewise, have a good day. And I'll, and I'll get, uh, links to everybody, and when, once you release it, I'll also include all your information, social media website, all that stuff to as well. Thanks so much. I hope to, I hope to meet you sometime. I hope to see you again.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I have to love to get you out to Vegas. That'd be great. Right on. Thanks so much. All right. Great. Have a great day. You too. Bye. Bye. Bye.