Search - Matt Ray :: We Got It!

New York jazz pianist Matt Ray has a remarkable sense of warmth and culture that resonates throughout his playing. He is that rare pianist who is contolled and refined, without being bland or leaving one cold.
We Got It!, his first album as a leader, was released in 2001. The recording demonstrates his subtlety of expression, and the warm, swinging feeling for which he has since come to be known. Aided by jazz greats Rodney Whitaker (bass), and Greg Hutchinson (drums), and joined on three tunes by great New York horn players John Ellis (tenor sax) and Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Matt works his way through a fascinating set of originals and covers.
The album opens with a Ray original, the title track to the CD, and it is a compact and gospel-tinged jazz boogaloo. Other notable originals include the teasingly bluesy "Fish Night," which expands the group to a quintet and features a tremendous solo by Pelt; a soulful 3/4 trio tune called "Not Long Now"; a rhythm changes, bebop quintet tune in B called "the Great Paper Chase"; and a beautiful straight-eighths composition entitled "Vista," which , after showing off Ray's impressive quintet writing and featuring a masterful solo by John Ellis, closes the album with a rock/gospel vamp.
Notable covers include the Stevie Wonder tune "Happier Than the Morning Sun," which has become Matt Ray's most requested piece. Greg Hutchinson's brushes groove on this tune is still the envy of many a jazz drummer. Wayne Shorter's "El Gaucho" is wide open both rhythmically and harmonically, and the trio really has some exhilarating moments during Wayne's great composition. There is a Miles Davis tune, "Sippin' at Bells," a gorgeous Strayhorn/Ellington ballad "the Star Crossed Lovers," and a through-composed trio arrangement of Thelonious Monk's "Think of One."
All told, this is a timeless work of music, and a great introduction to the mind and artistry of Matt Ray. Few pianists today have as accessible an approach as Ray, and the mix of trio and quintet tunes keeps the listener engaged throughout the ten pieces. The album is a commercial success as well, reaching as high as #12 on the jazz radio airplay charts. This is a must-own for any fan of piano-based jazz.