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One of the leading violists of his generation,
Mat Maneri is an individualistic soloist and composer, known for his forward-thinking approach to modern creative jazz, free improvisation, and avant-garde music.
Maneri first gained attention in the early '90s playing alongside his father, saxophonist
Joe Maneri, and has worked over the years with such like-minded artists as
Matthew Shipp,
Joe Morris, and
Craig Taborn, among others. As a leader, he has also issued his own small-group albums like 1999's
So What, 2000's
Blue Decco, and 2003's
For Consequence. He has also collaborated on numerous projects including 2017's
Sounding Tears with
Lucian Ban and
Evan Parker, and 2018's Strings 1 with saxophonist
Ivo Perelman.
The son of microtonal saxophonist and clarinetist
Joe Maneri,
Mat Maneri was born in 1968 in Brooklyn, and began playing the violin at age five. A skilled player by his teens,
Maneri excelled at Walnut Hills High School and New England Conservatory, before leaving school early to focus on music. Privately, he studied Baroque classical music with
Juilliard String Quartet founding member Robert Koff, and took lessons with noted jazz bassist
Miroslav Vitous. He made his recorded debut in the late '80s playing on trio albums with his father like 1989's Kalavinka with percussionist
Masashi Harada, and the 1995
ECM date Three Men Walking with guitarist
Joe Morris. There were also early projects with pianist
Matthew Shipp, the Indian-fusion ensemble
Natraj, pianist
Pandelis Karayorgis, and others.
In 1998, he made his debut as leader on the quintet session Acceptance, which featured an appearance from his father, as well as trombonist
Gary Valente, guitarist John Dirac, bassist
Ed Schuller, and drummer
Randy Peterson. He also began leading his own trio with pianist
Shipp, and issuing albums like 1998's
So What, 1999's
Fifty-One Sorrows. It was during this period that he adopted the viola as his primary instrument of choice; although he still plays a number of instruments including the violin, the electric violin, and the baritone violin.
In 2000, he paired with pianist
Craig Taborn, bassist
William Parker, and drummer
Gerald Cleaver for
Blue Decco. Trinity followed in 2001. That same year, he joined
Shipp and drummer
Whit Dickey in
Nommonsemble for Life Cycle, followed a year later by his own quartet album,
Sustain. Over the next several years,
Maneri stayed busy, appearing on albums with
Josh Roseman,
David S. Ware,
Craig Taborn, and others. He then paired with his father and bassist
Barre Phillips for 2004's
Angles of Repose on
ECM and drew inspiration from
Miles Davis'
Bitches Brew on 2005's
Pentagon.
Maneri next joined
Club d'Elf for a handful of albums, including 2006's
Now I Understand, after which he contributed to albums by
Manuel Valera,
Jacob Sacks,
Paul Motian, and others.
In 2011 he joined
Matthew Shipp and guitarist
Joe Morris for Duos, followed in 2013 by
A Violent Dose of Anything with
Shipp and saxophonist
Ivo Perelman.
Perelman was also on board for
Maneri's next several outings, 2014's
Two Men Walking, 2015's Counterpoint, and 2016's Breaking Point. In 2017,
Maneri reunited with
Shipp and
Dickey for the trio session
Vessel in Orbit. Also that year, he paired with
Lucian Ban and
Evan Parker on
Sounding Tears. Strings 1 arrived in 2018 and found the violinist once again collaborating with
Perelman. The duo followed with a second volume in the series, 2018's Strings 2, with
Mark Feldman and
Jason Hwang. Two more volumes arrived in 2019 with Strings 3 featuring trumpeter
Nate Wooley, and Strings 4 with
Wooley and pianist
Shipp. ~ Matt collar