There are only two shows left in the 4-week Wednesday night Robert Walter Residency at The Mint and if you haven’t had a chance to go, you definitely don’t wanna miss your chance this week as the B-3 wizard invites Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green) and Aaron Redfield (Greyboy Allstars) to join him.
GOOD NEWS: We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the show. To enter, just leave a comment below with your favorite song that Walter has played on (can be from Greyboy Allstars, 20th Congress, Stanton Moore Trio, or any project Walter has played on during his illustrious career). The randomly drawn winner will be notified on Tuesday and your name will be at the door Wednesday night with a +1 to bring a guest. Also, don’t forget to LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS so we can notify you if you win! Good luck!
WHO: Robert Walter, Reed Mathis and Aaron Redfield playing 2 sets
WHEN: Wednesday, June 20th @ 9:00 PM (Doors @ 8:00 PM)
WHERE: The Mint in Los Angeles, CA
Robert Walter: Robert Walter is an accomplished keyboardist and composer. He plays Piano, Hammond B3 and Fender Rhodes. While touring extensively in the US and Europe, he has worked as a leader and sideman with many of the giants of American jazz and funk music. As a member of the classic band the Greyboy Allstars he has built a large and devoted following. He also works as a session musician, recording and collaborating with a diverse group of artists and on many film scores. Robert grew up in San Diego, California where he studied music from the age of 7 and began performing in bands as a teenager. He helped form the the Greyboy Allstars in 1993 with Karl Denson, Elgin Park, Chris Stillwell, Zak Najor and DJ Greyboy. Influenced by soul-jazz and funk records from the 1960s and 70s, the band juxtaposed jazz improvisation and dance music. They continue to record and perform to a committed fan base. The Greyboy Allstars also served as the band for Robert’s first solo record, Spirit of ’70 which also featured saxophonist and Miles Davis sideman Gary Bartz. In the late 1990’s Robert started his own group Robert Walter’s 20th Congress to showcase his composing. The band became known for it’s live performances and toured throughout the 90s and 2000’s. They recorded two albums, Money Shot and Giving Up the Ghost. Band members included Cochemea Gastelum(Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings), Stanton Moore(Galactic), Joe Russo(Furthur, Benevento-Russo Duo), George Sluppick(Mofro, Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Mike Fratantuno(Black-eyed Peas), Chuck Prada, and Will Bernard. During this period Robert also recorded There Goes the Neighborhood with jazz-funk pioneers Harvey Mason, Chuck Rainey, Phil Upchurch and Red Holloway. Robert relocated to New Orleans in 2004 and became immersed the vibrant local music scene. He began collaborating with Johnny Vidacovich, Stanton Moore, James Singleton, George Porter Jr., and many more. While in New Orleans he recorded Super Heavy Organ and Cure All as well as albums with Stanton Moore(III, Emphasis on Parenthesis, Groove Alchemy) and Anders Osborne (American Patchwork). Robert currently lives in Los Angeles where he works on film music with composer Michael Andrews. They have done scores for Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher, Walk Hard (the Dewey Cox Story) Cyrus, Jeff Who lives at Home, She’s Out of Your League, 5 Year Engagement and the title song for the Fox comedy The New Girl (with Zooey Deschanel).
Reed Mathis: Reed Mathis likes to play the bass. He likes it a lot. He likes darn near every style of music he’s heard, and finds just about every role the bass gets to play immensely satisfying. If his life thus far is any indication, he has a neverending road of learning and fun to look forward to on his instrument. Born into a musical family, Reed’s childhood training was anything but formal. Two organist/conductor grandfathers sowed the seeds, and a conductor/composer/cellist/voice-teacher father and a classically trained performing singer/pianist mother made sure great music was as much a part of daily life as breakfast. Reed could read (ha!) and write music years before he could read english, but he felt a strong inner urge to rebel and define himself, so he all but ignored the piano and cello lessions he was given, and it looked like he was headed for a life of slacker mediocrity. But, the good Lord smiled upon him, and Lo! a Fender Precision Bass was rained down upon him (by way of his multi-instrumentalist uncle, who was on hand to show him plenty of Zeppelin & Beatles). Finally allowed to explore without a teacher, Reed’s bass interest progressed rapidly from Metallica’s Cliff Burton through Primus, Rush, Hendrix, Minutemen, Weather Report, Coltrane, Bird, Miles, Monk, Ornette, musics of Cuba, West Africa, and India, Bob Wills, MMW, Aston Barrett, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, Me’shell Ndegeocello, and on and on. Then one day his friend Steve Pryor told him of a band called Zero, and threw on a video of the newly-formed group KVHW. Reed was speechless as he watched the quiet unassuming seated man with the most profound and affecting guitar voice he’d ever heard. “There it is,” he thought. “There’s someone who’s playing some REAL music. That cat has been around the old incarnation block a few times. Thank God someone is saying something worthwhile.” He slept well that night. In 1994 Reed co-founded the group Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey with 7 other Oklahomans, and they spent the next 11 years (and counting) on the road, becoming a trio in 2000. Sometimes wild and experimental, sometimes delicate and beautiful, JFJO is nothing if not an honest exploration of the joy of improvising. “Simply put, bassist Reed Mathis is the future of jazz bass, a wholly original voice pressing into the outer reaches of his instrument.”
Aaron Redfield: Aaron Redfield is the drummer of the Greyboy Allstars along with countless other projects.
