Pete Seeger Must Be Smiling Someplace
Hudson Valley native Matt Garrison shares his love of the river through jazz
Matt Garrison has turned his love of the Hudson River into The Hudson Calls, a collection of songs about the river and towns and institutions on its banks (photo courtesy Matt Garrison)
It’s probably hyperbolic to say, at this point in time, anyway, that Matt Garrison could be the Pete Seeger of jazz.
Pete, after all, was already a globally famous folk musician by the time he launched the effort to bring attention to the pollution that was strangling the Hudson River in the mid-20th century. That effort, the sloop Clearwater, became a sentinel event in cleaning up vital waterways and the environmental movement in general in the late 1960s.
Matt, whose main ax is the tenor saxophone, is not a world famous musician. But he was born in Poughkeepsie in Vassar Hospital, which faces out onto the river, and grew up in the greater Poughkeepsie area. He went to college at SUNY-Purchase. He lives in an apartment in Yonkers with a view of the river and the Palisades. And his latest project, The Hudson Calls, does indeed serve as an extended – and enjoyable – reminder of the profound beauty and importance of the nation’s “first river.”
The songs are named for the river itself and various towns or institutions along its banks: Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, Matt’s mother’s home hamlet of Glenham, Vassar Hospital, Garrison (Matt is a descendant of the latter’s founders), and others. They are a mixture of straight-ahead jazz, ska, Latin, and folk. The lay listener can appreciate the subtle harmonics without getting lost.
“I think jazz musicians lose sight of the fact they are performers,” Matt told 8495Jazz. “A lot of times when I hear certain music I ask myself ‘What is this for?’ I guess for art’s sake you should not cut off your inspiration or creativity, but then to invest in it and put it out to the world – sometimes I think it’s nerd jazz and it’s not going to go anywhere.”
The Hudson Calls songs, 11 in all, were written in a fairly short period of time, beginning in August 2024, when Ian Hendrickson-Smith asked Matt to play an October gig at his Uncle Cheef club in Brewster. The performance also included one cover tune – Seeger’s “My Dirty Stream.”
“When I’m writing music, I do really well if I already have a theme and a concept and if I have an assignment,” Matt said. “I deal well with deadlines. I planned it out on paper first – I knew what towns I wanted to write about. I tried to think of what the vibe would be for each town.”
For example, he said the project’s song about Poughkeepsie is a ska tune: “That’s probably most likely going to be in a major key because ska is kind of a happy music in general,” Matt said. “For that one, I was actually influenced by the Chance (a legendary club in Poughkeepsie). I played there in a reggae band.”
The Hudson Calls isn’t the first jazz collection or band using the river in some way. The late saxophone master Michael Brecker lived in Hastings-On-Hudson and titled his 1997 album Tales from the Hudson, but the collection was not river-centric. A supergroup of sorts called Hudson (drummer Jack DeJohnette, guitarist John Scofield, keyboardist John Medeski and bassist Larry Grenadier) released a 2017 album with a loose theme of songs about the valley or performed by others who have lived or played there. But the coherent theme of the river as muse didn’t seem to inhabit that project as it does Matt’s.
“We had to think of a name,” Scofield told the Poughkeepsie Journal. “And we thought, ‘Why not?’ We called it Hudson since we live here.”
Matt acknowledges the projects that came before his but said he contributes his own lifelong experiences to the mix.
“If I have a certain inspiration, I’m not going to let anything that came before stifle it. But I also felt I had a unique perspective because I have lived in the Hudson Valley my whole life. There are so many river towns.”
He remembers going to the Clearwater Festival as a youngster, and it’s not hard for anyone with a familiarity of summer nights at riverside venues, indoors or out, to imagine The Hudson Calls as a worthy jazz-focused successor to other riverside performances.
“One of my initial ideas was that there are so many theaters or art centers in all the river towns – obviously I was thinking about the music, but also business,” Matt said.
Like many musicians, Matt pays the bills through a variety of endeavors, including teaching and a wedding band. His wife Emily, a violinist, also teaches and plays for the Albany Symphony Orchestra and other regional orchestras.
“At this point, things kind of set up nicely. The wedding band helps pay the bills, and I also like that music. I don’t really consider myself a jazz musician necessarily. I play music. When people ask, I say I play whatever they pay me for.
“The way I’ve looked at music for a long time is that I have music that pays the bills and music that pays the soul.”
The Hudson Calls is still new enough it hasn’t been recorded outside of the Uncle Cheef video, and I can’t predict how it may someday help him pay the bills. But take it from another kid born within sight of the river: It pays the soul.
Matt premiered the songs in The Hudson Calls at Uncle Cheef in Brewster in October 2024. This video is long. Break it up into chunks or stream it to your big screen and enjoy a concert at home.
Find out more about Matt Garrison.
Out and About with 8495Jazz
To alleviate confusion, ticket prices quoted now mention service fees as included or as additional; if fees are not mentioned, there are none to our knowledge. Because fees differ according to ticket type, service fee amounts are not included here but are available on venue web sites.
These listings are a curated sampling of shows in the region. As an independent resource for jazz news, 8495Jazz does not receive any consideration, free tickets, or affiliate fees for these listings. Please confirm events are still happening directly with the venue.
8495Jazz Wild Card Gig of the Week
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
More local Grammy winners! The monthly Paisley Ramirez Memorial Jam brings in 2025 Grammy winners Dan Pugach and Nicole Zuraitis Tuesday night. The house band, featuring Dan on drums, Nicole on keys and vocals, Dan Liparini on guitar, and Matt Dwonszyk on bass, starts at 7:30. Jam follows. No cover (but don’t ignore the tip jar and merch table).
8495Jazz Spur Of The Moment Gig TODAY
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
Improvisations Now (William Parker - bass, Jerome Deupree - drums, Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet, and Joe Morris, guitar). Today, 2:30 pm. $15, $12 members, $8 students (plus service fee).
Other Shows This Week
Grace Farms, New Canaan, CT
Andromeda Turre (vocals), Sat., Feb. 22, 4 pm. $20, children $12.
Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT
Baby Grand Jazz, Elan Mehler trio (piano, combo), today, 3 pm. Free.
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
David DeJesus and Greg Wall’s nod to Cannonball and Trane’s 1959 collaboration (alto and tenor saxes, combo) Thur., Feb. 20, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. Early show $20.76, $15.76 student/veteran. Late show $10.76.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Peter Greenfogel Birthday Bash (sax, combo), Wed., Feb. 19, 7 pm. Free, jam follows.
Side Door, Old Lyme, CT
Jeremy Pelt Quintet (trumpet, combo), Fri., Feb. 21, 8 pm. $60, $25 students (plus service fee).
Brandon Goldberg Trio (piano, combo), Sat., Feb. 22, 8 pm. $45, $20 students (plus service fee).
Pump House Music Works, Wakefield, RI
Joe Parillo and the New Ensemble (piano, combo), today, 7 pm. $20 (plus service fee).
Scullers, Boston, MA
Jeremy Pelt Quintet (trumpet, combo), Sat. Feb. 22, 7 and 9 pm. $48.05-$70.45 (including service fee).
Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA
Greg Abate Quartet (sax, combo), Fri., Feb. 21, 8 pm. $37 advance, $40 day of show.
Jazz Forum Club, Tarrytown, NY
Jesse Davis Quartet (alto sax, combo), Fri., Feb. 21 and Sat., Feb. 22, 7 and 9:30 pm. $35, $30 student (plus service fee).
Jams
Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
New Haven Jazz Underground jam, usually 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month: free admission
Saturday jazz jam most Saturdays, 4 pm. Free.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Jazz Wednesdays, featured set 7 pm, jam session afterward.
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
Paisley’s All Star Memorial Jam, 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:30 pm. House band set followed by jam. Free.
Jazz Societies and Organizations (great info on events, festivals, and more)
Jazz Society of Fairfield County
Jazz Fridays at Three Sheets New Haven 1st/3rd Fridays from 6-9pm
Jazz Thursdays at The Cannon New Haven every other Thurs from 7-9pm.
8495Jazz is taking a week off from publishing next week for a music-filled vacation week of taking in some shows. We’ll make the occasional post on our social media accounts to let you know about shows coming up before the next edition posts on March 2.
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