Mat Maneri

Mat Maneri ranks among the top violists of his era, an independent-minded performer and writer whose progressive ideas shape contemporary creative jazz, free improvisation, and avant-garde expression. Early notice came in the first half of the 1990s when he appeared alongside his father, saxophonist Joe Maneri, after which he forged lasting ties with Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Craig Taborn, and similarly inclined musicians. Under his own name he has led compact ensembles on discs such as So What in 1999, Blue Decco in 2000, and For Consequence in 2003, while also taking part in joint ventures that include the 2017 release Sounding Tears with Lucian Ban and Evan Parker and the 2018 album Strings 1 with saxophonist Ivo Perelman.

Born in Brooklyn in 1968 to microtonal saxophonist and clarinetist Joe Maneri, he started violin lessons at age five. His abilities stood out during high-school years at Walnut Hills and at New England Conservatory, yet he withdrew before finishing to devote himself entirely to music. Private study encompassed Baroque repertoire under Juilliard String Quartet founder Robert Koff and further lessons with jazz bassist Miroslav Vitous. Recorded work began in the late 1980s on trio sessions with his father, among them Kalavinka in 1989 with percussionist Masashi Harada and the 1995 ECM date Three Men Walking with guitarist Joe Morris, while additional early projects involved pianist Matthew Shipp, the Indian-fusion ensemble Natraj, pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, and others.

The 1998 quintet date Acceptance marked his first recording as leader and featured his father, trombonist Gary Valente, guitarist John Dirac, bassist Ed Schuller, and drummer Randy Peterson. Around that time he also formed a trio with pianist Shipp, producing So What in 1998 and Fifty-One Sorrows in 1999. During this period he made the viola his principal instrument, although he still performs on violin, electric violin, and baritone violin.

Blue Decco, recorded in 2000 with pianist Craig Taborn, bassist William Parker, and drummer Gerald Cleaver, was followed by Trinity the next year. That same year brought Life Cycle with Shipp and drummer Whit Dickey in Nommonsemble, and his own quartet album Sustain appeared shortly afterward. Subsequent activity included appearances on albums by Josh Roseman, David S. Ware, Craig Taborn, and additional artists. He reunited with his father and bassist Barre Phillips for the 2004 ECM release Angles of Repose and drew from Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew for Pentagon in 2005. Several recordings with Club d’Elf followed, including Now I Understand in 2006, after which he contributed to projects by Manuel Valera, Jacob Sacks, Paul Motian, and others.

Duos arrived in 2011 with Matthew Shipp and guitarist Joe Morris, and A Violent Dose of Anything in 2013 again paired him with Shipp and saxophonist Ivo Perelman. Perelman remained for the next sequence of albums: Two Men Walking in 2014, Counterpoint in 2015, and Breaking Point in 2016. In 2017 Maneri rejoined Shipp and Dickey for the trio session Vessel in Orbit and also recorded Sounding Tears with Lucian Ban and Evan Parker. Strings 1, issued in 2018, once more united him with Perelman; the pair continued with Strings 2 later that year alongside Mark Feldman and Jason Hwang. Two further volumes appeared in 2019: Strings 3 featuring trumpeter Nate Wooley, and Strings 4 with Wooley and pianist Shipp.