Dmitri Matheny: Starlight Cafe

Joel Roberts

CD/DVD Reviewer since 1999

Joel Roberts has been contirbuting to AAJ since its earliest days.

Recent articles (244 total)

Published: November 1, 1998

Already tabbed a "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" in the 1998 Down Beat Critics' Poll, flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny seems on the verge of establishing himself as a major new jazz star. His third release on San Francisco's Monarch label may just put him over the top.

Conceived as a "collection of nocturnes," Starlight Cafe is a quiet, hauntingly beautiful album of ballads and standards (including "Stardust," "Corcovado," "When You Wish Upon a Star," and Benny Carter's "When Lights Are Low") plus several of Matheny's similarly themed originals. The 34-year-old Nashville native, now a stalwart on the Bay Area jazz scene, is a velvety smooth player who favors the lyrical and poetic side of jazz over the fire and brimstone side championed by many of his contemporaries. His tone and overall approach bear the strong influence of his mentor, the impeccable "flumpet" player Art Farmer. His ballad playing also recalls that of another master of California romanticism, Chet Baker.

The album was recorded live in Berkeley with a drummer-less trio featuring the fine pianist Darrell Grant (ex-Betty Carter, Frank Morgan, Tony Williams) and bassist Bill Douglass (Mario McPartland's West Coast partner). Matheny and his talented cohorts have made a highly enjoyable album of late-night jazz that proves you don't need to make a lot of noise to make a strong impression.

Record Label: Monarch Records
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream

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Date	Venue	Tickets
Jun02	Jazz Church West (peace Lutheran Church) Danville, CA
Jun14	Armando's Martinez, CA
Jun14	Armando's Martinez, CA
Jun16	Piedmont Piano Company Oakland, CA
Jun21	Old First Concerts San Francisco, CA
Jun29	Concert @ The JazzSchool Berkeley, CA
Jun30	Workshop @ The JazzSchool Berkeley, CA
Jul11	Christo's Salem, OR
Jul12	Ivories Jazz Lounge & Restaurant Portland, OR
Jul12	Workshop @ American Music Program directed by Thara Memory Portland, OR
Jul13	The Jazz Station Eugene, OR
Jul14	Oregon Coast Music Festival Charleston, OR
Jul16	Workshop @ Peninsula College Port Angeles, WA
Jul17	Tula's Seattle, WA
Jul18	Workshop @ Medler Studios Portland, OR
Jul19	Boxley's North Bend, WA
Jul20	33rd Annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival Portland, OR
Jul21	Jazz at the Chimes Oakland, CA
Jul24	Lobby Lounge, Fairmont Hotel San Jose, CA
Jul25	Kuumbwa Jazz Center Santa Cruz, CA
Jul26	Dizzy's San Diego, CA
Jul27	Vibrato Grill Jazz ... etc. Bel Air, CA
Aug02	Moody's Bistro, Bar & Beats Truckee, CA
Aug03	Moody's Bistro, Bar & Beats Truckee, CA
Aug15	Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse Scottsdale, AZ
Aug16	Chandler Center for the Arts Chandler, AZ
Aug18	Sedona Jazz at the Church Sedona, AZ
Aug22	Museum Hill Café Santa Fe, NM
Aug24	KTAOS Solar Center Taos, NM
Aug25	Seedboat Center for the Arts Silver City, NM
Sep18	Workshop @ Northland Preparatory Academy Flagstaff, AZ
Sep19	Workshop @ Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
Sep21	Workshop @ Prescott Jazz Society Prescott Valley, AZ
Sep27	San Ramon Jazz Library San Ramon, CA
Sep28	Floyd Pellom's 57th Street Gallery (Oakland, CA) Oakland, CA
Sep29	The Red Poppy Art House San Francisco, CA
Oct30	Theater Works Peoria, AZ
Nov22	Workshop @ College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA
Dec04	Kerr Cultural Center Scottsdale, AZ
Dec05	Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse Scottsdale, AZ
Jan21	Westbrook Village Peoria, AZ
Mar01	The JazzSchool Berkeley, CA
Mar02	Workshop @ The Jazzschool Berkeley, CA
Apr21	Workshop @ Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI
Apr25	Cliff Bell's Detroit, MI