An acclaimed, genre-bending guitarist,
Matthew Stevens is known for his expansive post-bop harmonies and stylistic forays into post-rock, hip-hop, electronic music, and modern creative jazz. Building upon the pioneering approach of guitarists like
Bill Frisell,
Nels Cline, and
John Scofield,
Stevens initially garnered attention in the 2000s for his work with Grammy-nominated trumpeter
Christian Scott, and has contributed to albums by such similar maverick artists as
Esperanza Spalding,
Ben Williams, and
Harvey Mason. He has also issued his own cross-pollinated albums, including 2015's
Woodwork, 2017's
Preverbal, and 2018's In Common with saxophonist
Walter Smith III and
In Common 2 in 2020. The following year,
Stevens released
Pittsburgh, his first collection of solo guitar compositions, before reuniting with
Smith for 2022's
In Common III.
Born in 1982 in Toronto,
Stevens initially started out on the piano at age seven and switched to the guitar around age 11. He developed an interest in jazz and eventually graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music in 2004. It was while at Berklee that he befriended acclaimed trumpeter
Christian Scott. Following their time in college, the musicians began touring and recording together, working on albums like 2006's Grammy-nominated
Rewind That, 2007's
Anthem, and 2012's
Christian aTunde Adjuah.
Stevens was also a member of the modern hip-hop, jazz, and fusion group
Next Collective, recording 2013's
Cover Art.
In 2015,
Stevens released his debut album as leader,
Woodwork, featuring
Next Collective bandmate
Gerald Clayton on piano, as well as bassist
Vicente Archer, drummer
Eric Doob, and percussionist Paulo Stagnaro. He also found himself working on projects with a bevy of forward-thinking luminaries, including
Ben Williams,
Harvey Mason,
Linda May Han Oh, and more. In 2016, he contributed to bassist/vocalist
Esperanza Spalding's album
Emily's D+Evolution.
Stevens returned to his solo work in 2017 with
Preverbal, mixing his guitar with synths, sampling, and electronic programming, again working alongside drummer
Doob and bassist
Archer. The following year, he paired with saxophonist
Walter Smith III for the inventive acoustic session In Common, featuring vibraphonist
Joel Ross, bassist
Harish Raghavan, and drummer
Marcus Gilmore. That same year, he again worked with
Spalding, contributing to her Grammy-nominated effort
Twelve Little Spells.
Stevens reunited with saxophonist
Smith for
In Common 2 in 2020, this time working with bassist
Linda May Han Oh, pianist
Micah Thomas, and drummer
Nate Smith. In 2021,
Stevens realized an ambition by releasing
Pittsburgh, his first set of original solo compositions for guitar. He then returned to his work with
Smith for 2022's
In Common III. ~ Matt Collar