Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
Jazz Camp Jazz Fest:
Matt Jenson’s MIX UP MIX UP - Reggae Jazz!
Pianist/keyboardist, singer, composer, arranger Matt Jenson lights up the connection between roots-reggae and soul-jazz with his Mix Up Mix Up band featuring guitarist Will Bernard, trombonist Jeff Cressman, drummer Reese Bullen and bassist Gillian Harwin. The group presents original compositions and creative re-workings of pop, jazz and reggae anthems by Bob Marley, Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, Marvin Gaye, George Gershwin, Chopin and more. Imagine creative interplay between these fantastic musicians embedded in the intoxicating riddims of Jamaican reggae in an acoustic jazz setting! It is indeed a groundbreaking stylistic mash-up, sophisticated and soulful, with both instrumental and vocal repertoire, that gives nourishment to the mind, body and soul. Listen, dance to and feel the positive vibrations of the Mix Up Mix Up!
$20 General Admission
Growing up in rural New Hampshire Matt was guided by a deep spiritual connection communicated by the simplicity, beauty and truth of nature. As a child he fell in love with the musical styles of the African diaspora: Jazz, Blues, Afro-Latin and Reggae, leading him to completing a master’s degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston) and many immersive trips to areas where these styles originated, most notably Jamaica (where he now co-leads a musical-tourism trip called “Inside Reggae”) and to a lesser degree, Cuba. Included in Matt’s artistic persona is a deep concern for the socio-political-psychological-spiritual health of humanity and the planet and the desire to help heal and transform through ecstatic groove-oriented music. This, combined with his creative drive, provides the bedrock for nearly all of Matt’s artistic output as a talented keyboardist, singer, composer, arranger and leader of his own bands, The Liquid Revolution and MIX UIP MIX UP. He also tours internationally with the reggae powerhouse roots jazz-fusion band, Groundation. Last but not least, a gifted educator, Matt is currently on the piano faculty at Berklee College of Music where he is well-known for his smash hit class, “Music and Life of Bob Marley,” and will be riding high from teaching at Jazz Camp West the week before the show! mattjenson.com