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About Matt Olson
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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by Jack Bowers
Pleasurable jazz can sometimes spring forth from what many enthusiasts may consider highly unlikely sources. Such is the case with Open Spaces, an earnest and charming album on which saxophonist Matt Olson ushers a quintet of barely known South Carolinians through its paces in a generally animated session that consists of ten original compositions, every one written by a member of the ensemble. Olson and guitarist Matt Dingledine authored three songs apiece, while bassist Shannon Hoover and alto Adib Young ...
read moreMatt Olson: 789 Miles
by Mark Sullivan
Wisconsin-born tenor saxophonist/composer Matt Olson has traveled 789 miles from his childhood home to his current home in South Carolina, where he teaches at Furman University. His original compositions here aim to capture influences from his upbringing, but the present is well-represented by compositions from five Furman University students (graduates and current students). The format is a tight, funky organ trio with two of Olson's band mates in the Unhinged Sextet, last heard from on Don't Blink (OA2 Records, 2017): ...
read moreMatt Olson: 789 Miles
by David A. Orthmann
One of the most interesting things about tenor saxophonist Matt Olson's 789 Miles is something it lacks: An anxious, overriding eagerness to impress or knock the listener out at every turn. Instead, the record virtually looks you in the eye, shakes your hand, and then cordially invites you along for the ride. Olson, Hammond B-3 organist Mike Kocour and drummer Dom Moio, who comprise one-half of the notable collaborative ensemble, Unhinged Sextet, are middle-aged jazzmen whose artistry and craft runs ...
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