| March 2003 / No. 11
LISTEN UP!
by Matt Rand
Each month, AAJ-NY will bring you two musicians that we think you ought
to know about. This month, we focus on percussionisists. If you think
you or someone you know deserves a listen, email some information to
ldgreene@allaboutjazz.com
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Matt Kilmer is still very young, but he
is turning into a first-call percussion player. Matt Darriau, Brad Shepik
and Simon Shaheen, among others, have used Kilmer when their percussion
players have been out of town. His style continues to evolve, but his
most interesting contributions will likely come from his fascination
with bringing together the aesthetic qualities of live music and the
new world of sounds offered by electronic technology.
TEACHERS: "I went to Berklee as a drumset player,
pretty much exclusively. About a week before I left for
Berklee, I heard a Dave Liebman CD with Jamey
Haddad on it. And I was just blown away by it; I
didn't even know that he taught there at the time. My
second semester at Berklee, I hooked up with him, and
within six months of playing frame drums, the level
that I felt I could play at naturally felt more
comfortable to me than the drumset."
INFLUENCES: "I try to keep a balance of acoustic
and
electronic music happening. Nickel Banagee is a sitar
player I listen to a lot; he plays with Zakir Hussain, a
tabla player. And Arvo Pärt, the composer. As far as
electronic goes, Boards of Canada has been a real big
influence on me. I would kind of call that 'organic
electronic music'."
CURRENT PROJECTS: Kilmer is now playing with
Drala (David Nichtern on guitar and Steve Gorn on
Indian flute). He has been working with Matt Darriau
on electronic music, and he also sits in with the
Paradox Trio when Seido Salifosky is out of town, and
fills in for Jamey Haddad with Simon Shaheen. For his
own music, he is working on an electronic project with
the bassist Mitch Cohn. On that project he says "Right
now this is the first time that people have really been
able to cross electronic and acoustic music and make it
sound halfway decent. To be able to play the
electronic sounds in real time is exciting to me; it's a
new thing."
BY DAY: "Right now, I'm living off my savings
because touring this summer was amazing. I went to
the Middle East twice; I went to Colombia with
vibraphone player David Friedman; then I went to
Europe with Paradox Trio."
I KNEW I WANTED TO BE A MUSICIAN WHEN…
"I went to the Berklee summer program after my
sophomore year in high school. Being away from
home for five weeks and getting a partial scholarship
really pushed me. I didn't even apply to any other
colleges after that."
DREAM BAND: "I feel like I'm already playing with
a lot of the people that I would want to play with."
DID YOU KNOW? "I used to race BMX bikes."
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