Biography
Mat Walerian works as a saxophonist on woodwinds, a composer, and a bandleader whose primary focus lies in avant-garde jazz and improvisational settings. His most regular partners include drummer Hamid Drake, pianist Matthew Shipp, and bassist William Parker. Born Mateusz Jan Walerian in 1984, he began piano instruction at six and soon developed a strong pull toward blues and boogie-woogie before encountering John Coltrane’s recordings at ten. At sixteen he acquired a saxophone and taught himself, reaching a level within a month that allowed him to enter his school orchestra.
A change of high schools removed access to any ensemble, and without funds for an instrument or a school loan he set the horn aside until nineteen, when he bought his own alto. Brief formal lessons followed before he abandoned structured study, instead practicing alone and joining bands that blended hardcore and free guitar improvisation. After graduation he pursued Eastern philosophy and Japanese culture; Japanese and Indian classical traditions shaped him as profoundly as Western classical music and the jazz lineage. He kept performing across ensembles that mixed improvised music, jazz, electronica, and additional strands.
Drake and Walerian first met in 2008, after which the drummer provided occasional guidance. In 2010 Walerian established the Okuden Music concert series in his native Torun and served as its artistic director, enabling him to present music on his own terms without depending on local promoters. Within that framework he appeared in a duo called White Lotus alongside Drake and in the Jimi Hendrix-influenced power trio Sainthunter, which also featured bassist Tim Dahl. On Drake’s recommendation Walerian wrote to Shipp about performing at Okuden; the pianist accepted, initiating an enduring collaboration.
The pair recorded the duo project The Uppercut: Live at Okuden in 2012. Issued in 2015 on ESP-Disk, the set marked the reedman’s first album as a leader. That same year he signed formally to the label, becoming the final artist founder Bernard Stollman approved. Several months afterward he directed the trio date Jungle: Live at Okuden with Drake and Shipp, released in spring 2016. In spring 2017 he issued his third ESP-Disk leader album, This Is Beautiful Because We Are Beautiful People, featuring his Toxic trio with Shipp and Parker.
A change of high schools removed access to any ensemble, and without funds for an instrument or a school loan he set the horn aside until nineteen, when he bought his own alto. Brief formal lessons followed before he abandoned structured study, instead practicing alone and joining bands that blended hardcore and free guitar improvisation. After graduation he pursued Eastern philosophy and Japanese culture; Japanese and Indian classical traditions shaped him as profoundly as Western classical music and the jazz lineage. He kept performing across ensembles that mixed improvised music, jazz, electronica, and additional strands.
Drake and Walerian first met in 2008, after which the drummer provided occasional guidance. In 2010 Walerian established the Okuden Music concert series in his native Torun and served as its artistic director, enabling him to present music on his own terms without depending on local promoters. Within that framework he appeared in a duo called White Lotus alongside Drake and in the Jimi Hendrix-influenced power trio Sainthunter, which also featured bassist Tim Dahl. On Drake’s recommendation Walerian wrote to Shipp about performing at Okuden; the pianist accepted, initiating an enduring collaboration.
The pair recorded the duo project The Uppercut: Live at Okuden in 2012. Issued in 2015 on ESP-Disk, the set marked the reedman’s first album as a leader. That same year he signed formally to the label, becoming the final artist founder Bernard Stollman approved. Several months afterward he directed the trio date Jungle: Live at Okuden with Drake and Shipp, released in spring 2016. In spring 2017 he issued his third ESP-Disk leader album, This Is Beautiful Because We Are Beautiful People, featuring his Toxic trio with Shipp and Parker.
Albums
Live
