Jazz breaking news: Matana Roberts To Play LJF Show And To Release Live Album In Early-2011

With the release of her debut The Chicago Project Matana Roberts, a member of the historic Windy City-based collective the AACM, made quite an impact at the time. The New York Times even commented “Ms. Roberts isn't just mildly curious to expand her medium: She seems driven to do it.” The album was produced by pianist Vijay Iyer, and John McEntire of Tortoise, and released by Barry Adamson, formerly of post-punk group Magazine, on his label Central Control. Roberts, previously a classical musician and a clarinettist, received encouragement from the late Fred Anderson, the guiding light behind the adventurous Velvet Lounge club in Chicago where she frequently played with her trio Sticks and Stones.

The follow-up album, to be released in February by Central Control, unlike The Chicago Project which had the presence of guitar, has piano instead featuring on the six-tracker, four of whose tunes were written by Roberts herself. Opening with an a cappella saxophone solo and a long fascinating improvisation on Chad Jones tune ‘My Sistr’, Roberts’ keening, probing lines are picked up on by scampering Chris Vatalaro drum accompaniment at first. Next track ‘Pieces of We’ has Robert Mitchell to the fore at the beginning in a track that trades on Roberts’ signature “cycles of sound” approach followed by the slower ‘Glass’, confident and optimistic quasi-anthemic-sounding ‘Turn It Around’ (which allows jaunty momentum from Mitchell), the exploratory ‘Oska T’ attributed to Duke Ellington, and the impressive ‘Exchange’.

Recorded at the Vortex in London last year in a quartet setting with pianist Mitchell, bassist Tom Mason and drummer Vatalaro, some of the material was broadcast by the BBC on Radio 3’s late night flagship show Jazz on 3. Roberts returns to the Dalston club for the London Jazz Festival on 18 November with the band that appears on the album scheduled to appear according to the club’s website.

The saxophonist has also been working on an extensive project which she calls Coin Coin that involves research into her family history including reimaginings of the soundworld and life story of a distant relative "Coin Coin" who was both a slave and a slave owner. The project melds post-bop jazz, free improv, Southern historic styles and operatic voice. Chapter two of the project ‘Mississippi Moonchile’ has been performed live in Europe at the prestigious Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland and in the States were it was webcast by NPR earlier this year.

– Stephen Graham

To book for the Vortex London Jazz Festival show go to www.vortexjazz.co.uk