Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O 2017 Wonder & Awe Tour
Featuring: Jeff Lederer-reeds Paul Sikivie-bass Matt Wilson: drums
Special Guest- Guitarist Nels Cline from Wilco for 12/19-20 NYC shows at Jazz Standard
December 9- Love Wins! A Celebration of Music to benefit the Ana Márquez – Greene scholarship at Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT.
December 13- daytime: Iowa City, Iowa High School Evening- Octopus College Hill Cedar Falls Iowa
December 14– Noce Des Moines, Iowa.
December 15/16– Green Mill Chicago, Il.
December 17– private event Brooklyn, NY
December 18– Quinn's Beacon NY
December 19-20 Jazz Standard NYC w/ special guest guitarist Nels Cline from Wilco
December 22– Jazz Loft Stonybrook, NY
“Wonder and innocence, gaudiness and cheer: can it be any surprise that the jazz drummer Matt Wilson thrives around the holidays?” – The New York Times
Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O has been delighting audiences since they first gathered in 2009 for a concert in Brooklyn. The response to the music was so positive they decided to gather on a snowy May day to make a record. Their 2010 release on Palmetto Records, Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O, garnered great critical acclaim including a 4-star review in DownBeat magazine where they proclaimed, “Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O provides Yuletide greetings so eloquent and mind-bending even the nastiest of Scrooges will want to pay attention.”
The Tree-O’s fun-filled concert presentation, which include films, lights and decorations, has allowed the Tree-O to tour each December since 2011 throughout the US and Canada. The band’s performance on the NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert catapulted them to cult-status among holiday music aficianodos. They now have established annual gigs in NYC at the Jazz Standard ( 6th Year), in Chicago at the Green Mill as well as a bi-annual gig in St.Louis at Jazz at the Bistro. Part of the allure of the concert performances are the guests that may appear to aid in spreading Christmas cheer. Over the years such luminaries as Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Esperanza Spaulding, Marshall Allen, Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Jeff Hamilton, Cecile McClorin Salvant, Christian McBride, Janis Siegal, Dawn Clement, Duchess, Aaron Diehl, Jimmy Bosch and Bobby Sanabria and many others have joined the Tree-O for sonic merriment. Comedian Amy Schumer so loved the band at their 2015 appearance in St.Louis, she and her crew even joined in on the fun. It was wild!
The Tree-O features multi-reed master Jeff Lederer who has released many celebrated recordings as a leader and once met Charlie Chaplin as a young child. The bassist Paul Sikivie has been a mainstay in the bands of Cecile McClorin Salvant and Aaron Diehl and hails from Gainesville, Florida– the birthplace of Gatorade. Celebrated drummer Matt Wilson, one of jazz music’s most beloved ambassadors, has two different sized feet. Left-9 Right 10 1/2.