One thing I learned a long time ago in my playing days, especially in New Orleans and Nashville, is that groups and artists come and go with the charts, but studio musicians and backing bands endure because they are made from a different style of workmanship than your average stage-dweller. They have the chops and the instinct to use them in a vast variety of ways, from the subtle to the massive, from vamps to hooks and solos and beyond. And when left to their own devices, they often stretch out in ways most players can only dream of. One such fellow is pianist Matt Rollings, who has forged a prodigious path from the land of jazz to
country, and beyond. A very shortlist of people his keys have backed up includes Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovett … and that’s just getting started on his long CV. Tonight at 8 p.m., the Redwood Jazz Alliance presents his Humboldt County debut, bringing his Trio to the stage of the Arcata Playhouse for a show that is guaranteed to be worth the door price, which is $20 for general, $15 for students and seniors.
This article appears in ‘If Only We’d Done More to Save Her’.