Matt Blair Recital

Arts + Literature Laboratory presents an evening of new jazz compositions by UW-Madison graduate student and pianist Matt Blair on Sunday, August 11, 2024 at 7:00pm. Free admission, donations encouraged.

The music that will be premiered is a culmination of many of the interests that Blair has focused on during his graduate work, namely exploring the intersections between composition, improvisation, field recording, and computer music. Blair will perform with Will Greene (saxophone) Jakob Heinemann (bass), and Devin Drobka (drums).

Matt Blair

Matt Blair is a pianist, composer, and educator who recently returned to Madison, WI. His work draws upon diverse musical traditions such as contemporary classical, electro-acoustic improvisation, free jazz, minimalism, and noise. In addition to his practice as a pianist, he incorporates extended electronic processing of the Fender Rhodes, synthesizers, and the computer in his music.

Since 2018, Matt has been releasing music on his label, Scribbled Fang Records. Recent releases have included Shadow Sets, a collection of compositions for solo piano that was produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple), Post Rock Lately, the debut record of Collector, an improvising trio featuring Jakob Heinemann on bass and Devin Drobka on drums and electronics, and Flights and Poor Health Good Spirits, both releases by Big Thanks, a Minneapolis-based Trash House trio featuring Miles Allen on saxophone and clarinet and Jack Lussenden on drums. Other recent releases have included After... Read More

Will Greene

Will Greene plays guitar and saxophone and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. He improvises and writes music based on what he would like to hear. Generally, Will is fascinated by repurposing old, almost-forgotten sounds, finding new, soon-to-be-forgotten sounds, and exploring dynamic and physical limits in their extremes.

Will is a member of avant-thrash outfit TRIGGER, the sci-fi country band DRESSAGE, and italo-prog-pop ensemble TREDICI BACCI.

He is also proud of and grateful for his past and ongoing collaborations that have taken him across the United States and several continents. A woefully abbreviated list of these collaborators: Joe Morris, Raf Vertessen, John Zorn, Elias Stemeseder, Zoe Christiansen, Kenny Wollesen, Max Jaffe, Henry Fraser, Carrie Furniss, Daniel Pencer, and Jesse Heasly.

Jakob Heinemann

Jakob Heinemann is a bass player, composer and educator from Madison, Wisconsin. Taking up the bass at age 10, he has worked in professional contexts since age 13, performing all over the Midwest at venues such as the Fox Valley Performing Arts Center, the Trout Museum of Art, Chicago's Park West Theatre, the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, in addition to a large majority of the jazz venues in Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox Valley area. These many years of playing experience have led him to work in a wide diversity of genres with many well-respected musicians, including Devin Drobka, Hal Rammel, Andrew Trim, Jon Deitemyer, Dane Richeson, Paul Hastil, and Qanun virtuoso Ali Paris. His recent projects include Indie-rock outfit Riverbug, the hip-hop/neo-soul collective Backpocket, and his ongoing original music jazz septet Good Trouble, in addition to work on his own music for quartet. Jakob graduated from Lawrence University with a degree in... Read More

Devin Drobka

Devin Drobka is one of the most in-demand and creative musicians in the midwest for the past 15 years. Audiences around the world have been enthralled with his wide sonic palette and limitless rhythmic possibilities on the drums. A deep love of jazz, metal, folk, hip-hop, ambient, idm, and classical music has helped shaped Devin’s unique voice and vision on the drums both as a leader and as a sideman. His highly personal and creative drumming can be heard within the realm of jazz having performed with Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, Dayna Stephens, and Joe Lovano as well as indie- folk bands like Field Report and indie rappers R.A.P. Ferreira and Serengeti. Devin can be heard on over 50 albums of genre bending, original music for which he is an advocate for. Devin currently composes music for his newest group, The Devin Drobka Trio, which draws upon his love of contemporary classical music and minimalism and his multi horn group, Bell Dance Songs, which is a response to his love of... Read More

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Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

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