Cutting Loose

The Matt Savage Trio | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Palmetto Records
• ASIN: B000HLDEWI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,997 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Matt Savage is a 12-year-old jazz pianist whose musical abilities defy explanation. In the 6 years since he began studying piano, he has performed with top jazz greats, including Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Marcus McLaurine, Kenny Washington, Jon Faddis, and Bobby Watson (of Art Blakey fame) at venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, and The New Orleans Jazz Festival. He has double billed with Danilo Perez, opened for Grammy singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin, and shared the stage with Arturo O’Farrill, The Bad Plus, Stefon Harris and Karrin Allyson to name but a few musicians. He has met and performed for such jazz legends as Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea, and McCoy Tyner. The list goes on and on. Matt has appeared on numerous television shows and documentaries worldwide, including NBC’s The TODAY Show, ABC’s "20/20" with Barbara Walters, Lifetime Television, and The Discovery Channel. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s "All Things Considered", Bobby Jackson’s "Jazz Tracks" on WCPN in Cleveland, and has done live performances and interviews on dozens of jazz stations in the US. His music can be heard on jazz stations worldwide. Featured in Time Magazine, PEOPLE Magazine, JAZZIZ Magazine, WIRED, Der Spiegel, and Prestige Magazine and numerous international publications, Matt has also received accolades in countless newspaper articles. Heading up his own trio, comprised of adult musicians John Funkhouser on bass and Steve Silverstein on drums, Matt and his trio have traveled over much of the US and Asia, where they performed for President and First Lady Nathan of Singapore. In the spring of 2003, Matt was signed by Bösendorfer piano as their only child artist in their 176-year-history. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Twelve-year-old Matt Savage showcases his burgeoning talent in this outstanding CD. As both composer and artist, he infuses youthful exuberance and "old soul" experience into every tune. The name of this CD proclaims the dual significance of the music contained within. Not only is Matt "cutting loose" from childhood, but he cuts loose in the jazz sense, exploring a wide range of styles and just going all out. The studio-recorded CD begins with a jazzy tune entitled, ‘Infected with Hemiola’ and ends with a playful ‘Ladybug Bounce.’ "Don’t worry. Hemiola is not a disease. It’s just a musical term meaning that you play phrases from one time signature when you’re actually in another," states Matt in the CD’s liner notes. Thus begins a wild journey through musically complex twists and turns. A 5/4 blues, a 7/4 toe-tap, a stealthy "Pink Panther"-ish tune, a swing tune and haunting ballads pause just long enough to squeeze in a waltz for mom. Of course, no Matt Savage Trio CD would be complete without a couple of fast-paced flag-wavers to send your socks flying. There are even a few "edgy" jazz tunes unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Matt wrote all fourteen of the tunes on this CD, and the range of his imagination and compositional skills is limitless. Bursting with intricate time signatures, intoxicating ballads and flat-out fun, this CD will captivate you from beginning to end. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prodigious, Playful, and Positively Profound, September 21, 2004

By 

Jesse Carnes "Major Carnes" (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cutting Loose (Audio CD)

I own this CD [and all of Matt Savage's CDs]. Regarding this specific CD, let me say that this is not just "CD no.4" since the Matt Savage Trio was officialy organized, but this recording is a witness to the flowering of legitimate genius.
I refer to Matt Savage, of course. For example : due to the profound and yet simple memody found in Matt Savage's own tune, Plain Old Rhythm Changes, that chart will undoubtedly become a jazz standard. The melody starts out RIGHT on the bar and is in a lively four-four and hums along with the brightness of a vintage Henry Mancini tune. It is original and yet is consumate toe-tapping jazz! But let me say that this recording showcases not only Matt but also his superb bass-player John Funkhouser, and adroit drummer Steve Silverstein.
Technically, this recording offers VERY satisfying TONAL balance and detail imaging. A good class-A or AB system will only put this Jazz Trio RIGHT into your living-room! Rich!!

Let me elaborate on 2 more of this CD's tunes : Matt Savage's Nine At Night is a largo-tempo piece that is not only placid, but as cozy as hot British Tea and Belgian chocolate on a cold winter night. I MUST drink a cup when I hear this song, and in the same tradition is another Matt Savage tune, The Wild Rose. This tune is not only languid, but whose "concert harp-like" opening is prelude to a tune so powerfully romantic and lush that only a boor could fail to appreciate its powerful musical genius. Again, do we get the message here? Simple and yet Profound! That is the heart of this CD's genius ... and Matt Savage's genius. I cannot get enough of this CD--a true witness of a Mozartian genius in its formative flower!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Matt Savage Trio's "Cutting Loose" is like..., September 13, 2004

By 

W. Wilkerson "Dog Boy" (Earth; waiting for a ride...) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cutting Loose (Audio CD)

Matt Savage Trio's "Cutting Loose" is like a great new dish at a favored restaurant you know won't ever disappoint you; it's like a wild new ride down a favorite road with all new scenery and total confidence in your driver; cotton candy in Winter [?]; a favorite warm jacket that you would wear all year round if possible and might wear all year anyway.

That should cover the gushing superlatives [for now] and so onto a light technical review. See my reviews of Matt Savage Trio's other releases for more "Wow" coverage.

This is the sixth disc recorded by Matt Savage and the fourth with his Trio buddies Mssrs. Silverstein [skins] and Funkhouser [bass]. The first two discs [basically out of print] are small works of a budding artist and include some spoken word as well. The Trio works [live and studio] are tight and wonderfully executed recordings which document the growth of Matt as a performer / composer and the group as a working Jazz Powerhouse.

Recorded on a single day in July of 2004, "Cutting Loose" is the most expansive of the Trio's work to date and more varied in style and manner that anything yet released from the House of Savage. It contains the informative and warm liner notes that mark all Savage Records releases as a loving and personal "handcraft" items.

"Cutting Loose" is the first disc from the Trio that is solely Matt Savage compositions and this is a good thing. His playing skill is already firmly established and, all respect to the Masters of the past, his composition skill is producing works that can stand beside ANYTHING crafted for the crazy 88 to date, by anyone, anywhere, ever.

Yeah folks, he is "that" good and the Trio is "that" tight.

The Matt Savage Trio is creating jazz standards for this age and it's leader / composer is [say it with me] Twelve Years Old... hang on to your hats and coats people because this powerful and wildly colored jazz ride is only going to get more fun and interesting with each new disc / work / performance.

Lots of things can be said of Matt Savage - but here is the one that counts: He is a super talented piano player and composer with a great Trio setup going on and you should hear it.

Should you be fortunate enough to catch a live show, by all means do so.

Please visit www.savagerecords.com for much quicker and more personal service than Amazon provides and to assure that a portion of CD proceeds go to autism research and support. Mr. Bezos already has enough money ;]


Peaxe,
Rev. D.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prodigious, Playful, and Positively Profound, October 25, 2006

By 

Jesse Carnes "Major Carnes" (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cutting Loose (Audio CD)

I own this CD [and all of Matt Savage's CDs]. Regarding this specific CD, let me say that this is not just "CD no.4" since the Matt Savage Trio was officialy organized, but this recording is a witness to the flowering of legitimate genius.
I refer to Matt Savage, of course. For example : due to the profound and yet simple memody found in Matt Savage's own tune, Plain Old Rhythm Changes, that chart will undoubtedly become a jazz standard. The melody starts out RIGHT on the bar and is in a lively four-four and hums along with the brightness of a vintage Henry Mancini tune. It is original and yet is consumate toe-tapping jazz! But let me say that this recording showcases not only Matt but also his superb bass-player John Funkhouser, and adroit drummer Steve Silverstein. Funkhouser and Silverstein are both seasoned musicians who are nothing less than jazz professionals.

Technically, this recording offers VERY satisfying TONAL balance and detail imaging. A good class-A or AB system will only put this Jazz Trio RIGHT into your living-room! Aurally Rich to one's ears!!

Let me elaborate on 2 more of this CD's tunes : Matt Savage's Nine At Night is a largo-tempo piece that is not only restful, but as cozy as a cup of hot Tea and some chocolate on a cold winter night. I MUST drink a cup when I hear this song, and in the same tradition is another Matt Savage tune, The Wild Rose. This tune is not only languid, but whose "concert harp-like" opening is prelude to a tune so powerfully romantic and lush that only a boor could fail to appreciate its powerful musical genius. Again, do we get the message here? Simple and yet Profound! That is the heart of this CD's genius ... and Matt Savage's genius. I cannot get enough of this CD--a true witness of a Mozartian genius in its formative flower!