Matt Slocum's 'Lion Dance': A Roaring Saxophone Trio

Matt Slocum's latest offering is an exploration of the timeless saxophone-bass-drums trio format, featuring Slocum alongside tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III and bassist Larry Grenadier.

Hailed by The Minneapolis Star Tribune as "one of the great young jazz drummers in New York City," Slocum has crafted an album that showcases his maturing compositional skills and his ability to create deeply interactive musical conversations. Lion Dance was recorded live to two-track analog tape by James Farber and produced by Jerome Sabbagh, capturing the energy and spontaneity of the trio's performances.

The album features five original compositions by Slocum, alongside fresh interpretations of three standards: Vernon Duke's "What Is There To Say," Gordon Jenkins' "This Is All I Ask," and Thelonious Monk's "We See." Slocum's originals, including the 9/4 time signature title track, demonstrate his knack for creating frameworks that allow for high-level interaction and improvisation.

"I've always wanted to do a sax trio record," Slocum explains. "I feel it's a benchmark for drummers – for saxophonists, too." He adds that writing for this format pushed him to explore new compositional directions, particularly in terms of hearing chords horizontally rather than vertically.

Q&A - Do you see chords vertically or horizontally?

In this free video lesson we contrast two different ways of thinking about the chords while you are improvising.

Improvise for Real

Slocum's long-standing musical relationships with Smith and Grenadier (this is Smith's fourth appearance on a Slocum-led project, while Grenadier featured on Slocum's 2019 and 2022 releases) contribute to the trio's intuitive interplay.

Critics have praised Slocum's previous work for its emotional depth and subtle intensity. Steve Futterman of The New Yorker has described Slocum as a "seducer, entrancing through the power of finesse," while JazzTimes' Ken Micallef notes that Slocum has "established the one thing all musicians desire: a singular sound."

Lion Dance will be available on digital platforms and as an all-analog 180g LP and is available for pre-ordering now.