Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn
Matt Clark, piano
Perry Thoorsell, bass
Mark Lee, drums

On April 15th, Dmitri Matheny concludes a five-date swing through major Bay Area venues with a performance at Bird & Beckett of material from his 2016 release JAZZ NOIR.

Dmitri Matheny, born in Nashville in 1965, became proficient on trumpet during his teens in Tucson and carried his studies further at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and Berklee College of Music in Boston. On reaching Boston, Matheny’s development on trumpet was shaped by the noted New York brass teacher Carmine Caruso, but in 1988-89, his final year at Berklee, he switched his focus from trumpet to flugelhorn under the tutelage of the great Art Farmer (1928-1999). Farmer, a key figure on trumpet beginning in the early 1950s, became the defining voice on flugelhorn after taking up the horn in about 1960. Farmer’s warmth and lyricism on that instrument is at the heart of Matheny’s music; his direct influence on Matheny’s swift development as a musician lasted over a decade until Farmer’s death in 1989, a time during which he was Matheny’s public champion and private mentor. “Art Farmer’s role in the early success of Dmitri Matheny cannot be overstated,” observed writer and historian Phil Elwood. “Without Art, there could be no Dmitri.” For the last two and a half decades Matheny has been widely proclaimed as a fresh and beautiful voice on the instrument.

On finishing his studies at Berklee, Matheny moved to San Francisco, where he formed the Dmitri Matheny Group, an all-star ensemble which remains his primary vehicle. He also worked for several years with SFJazz, and it was there that Matheny and film programmer Eddie Muller produced a notable film noir series focusing the audience’s attention on the brooding and menacing jazz that contributes immeasurably to the greatness of the genre.

In 2016, Matheny released his 11th and latest cd as a leader, JAZZ NOIR. 

“With the help of a tremendous cast and a repertoire refined over two decades, JAZZ NOIR proves a sinister beauty for fans of rainy city nights and old school noir.”—Earshot Jazz

Selections include classic movie themes from Touch of Evil, Laura, Chinatown, Vertigo, Taxi Driver, Blues In The Night, Twin Peaks, Toute Une Vie, High Wall, The Long Goodbye and Stormy Weather, modern standards Estate, Caravan, Here’s Looking At You and Golden Lady, and two originals: Film Noir (from a poem by Dana Gioia) and Crime Scenes, a San Francisco-inspired jazz suite with voiceover narration in the hardboiled style of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

“Dmitri Matheny is a jazz treasure. The lyrical Matheny has impressive chops, but it’s his warmth and soulfulness that win you over.”—All Music Guide

“The first breakthrough flugelhornist since Chuck Mangione.”—San Jose Mercury News

“A visionary. Matheny’s flugelhorn is both hot and cool, wide of range and brilliantly imaginative.”—San Francisco Examiner

“One of the jazz world’s most talented horn players.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Ample talent, beautiful lines, and a flawless warm tone. Matheny is an excellent performer on gentle ballads and bop scorchers alike.”—Rolling Stone