Matt Anderson Quartet

About the event

Doors 7:45 PM, Music 8:30 PM - 2 sets of music Line-up: Matt Anderson - Tenor saxophone Alberto Palau - Piano Jay Davis - Drum kit Will Harris - Double bass About: Celebrating ten years together as a band, the Matt Anderson Quartet performs selections from their three albums as well as new material. Their latest release Live at Leeds Jazz Festival was awarded four stars by Jazzwise, who also praised the “well-integrated, swinging and supremely confident ensemble… [with] a soulful depth to his musicality that underpins the academic attention to detail”. Performing mostly original music, the roots of jazz are never far away, with a rhythmic feel and blues sensibility that is anchored in the tradition, however the music also expands into other areas such as modal and contemporary harmony and British folk-style melodies, giving the group a distinctive identity. Born in the North Yorkshire Moors, the son of a music teacher and based in Leeds for a time, Matt has lived in London since 2015. Becoming part of the fertile jazz scene in the capital, he has since performed with artists/bands such as Greg Hutchinson (with the Jiannis Pavlidis Quintet), Ivo Neame, the Gareth Lockrane and Calum Gourlay big bands, Jamie Doe’s Magic Lantern and Hannes Riepler, and he has also toured in New Zealand, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. In 2023, he became a D’Addario Woodwinds artist and was also made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for contributions to the music industry. The band met during Masters studies at the Royal Academy of Music in 2015, forging an instant bond which has kept them together since. Alberto Palau is an immensely talented pianist originally from Valencia, Spain. Now based in London, his experiences living in Boston and New York and working with artists such as Perico Sambeat and Charles McPherson make him much in-demand from leading British musicians. Jay Davis is one of the busiest drummers on the London scene, featuring for example in Mark Lockheart’s Shapeshifter and his own group BadTrad. Will Harris’ remarkable bass playing has put him in high demand in the South-West where he has been based for many years, and after spending time in London he has become an increasingly popular choice of bassist in the capital as well. Working together frequently over the past ten years, the band have developed a deep connection, touring extensively across the U.K. as well as appearing at venues such as the Bimhuis, Amsterdam; Jamboree, Barcelona and Jimmy Glass, Valencia and receiving support from Help Musicians and Arts Council England.