Greta Matassa Sextet at Jazz Alley April 2nd 2025 

“Greta Matassa is the most important jazz singer to emerge from the city of Seattle since the great Ernestine Anderson rose from the scene on Jackson Street to international stardom.”
Truth is a constant, something that remains rooted to fact no matter how many times told. That being said, the obvious must be stated here, as it has many times previously—Greta Matassa is the most important jazz singer to emerge from the city of Seattle since the great Ernestine Anderson rose from the scene on Jackson Street to international stardom.

There is documentation to support this, of course. There are six albums as a leader, including the marvelous Portrait (Origin, 2019), a primer of tunes she had performed for over a decade with her working band. There are the plethora of live performances that are in themselves a constant on the Northwest jazz scene. Then there is her indelible ability to employ scat figures to tunes as any horn player would—with or without the lyrics that she pens to instrumental modern jazz classics. Her influence as a mentor to the Seattle vocal jazz community is impressively immense as well.

Matassa has sold out shows at Dizzy’s in New York City, toured Russia, Singapore, Hawaii, New Orleans and other destinations abroad. Yet a stage that she has visited as a performer a scant few times beckoned for this evening in her home turf of Seattle, arguably the most important stage for any jazz musician reared in the Emerald City.

Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley began as a small bistro on the “Av,” a bustling stretch in the city’s university district, and in 1985, moved to Belltown into what would evolve into a 400 seat jazz club. In essence, it is a place where Seattle jazz and R&B fans can settle into a fine culinary experience alongside the finest touring acts in the business. Only occasionally does resident talent appear, though that trend appears to be turning. Just a month earlier, Seattle based trumpeter Thomas Marriott attracted large audiences for his two night stand at the club. It seemed only right that Matassa would return for another one night stand, to tell her truth with her long-tenured talented band.

Bassist Clipper Anderson is Matassa’s partner in music and in life, while drummer Mark Ivester and saxophonist Alexey Nikolaev have performed with Matassa for so long, they may seem like family as well. Both are veteran ensemble players, with the added ability of being outstanding soloists. Pianist David Lee Joyner, and the brilliant guitarist Brian Monroney are more recent additions, giving the band a wide array of musicians who can carry the load while Matassa claims her choruses in the same way her musicians do—as part of a unit that works together. Such longevity and familiarity in modern jazz bands is not all that common, making Matassa’s dates with her fans multi-dimensional in a very musical sense.

The band minus its leader began the evening festivities with Matassa hanging out in the bar observing with obvious pleasure. Working their way through Joyner’s “The Rock,” listeners were reminded of Matassa’s methodology as a bandleader, seeing herself as a centerpiece, but in that role still occupying only a sliver of the band’s musical identity. In other words, she lets the cats play, which has engendered a deep sense of camaraderie within the collective, and partly explains the band’s longevity as a unit.

Matassa shifted gears from the boppish opener by launching into “The Smiling Hour,” a Hans Lins composition that served as the title track for her 2007 Origin Records release. Jobim’s “Double Rainbow” followed, though a noticeable imbalance existed in the sound. Matassa’s voice was buried in the mix, and Nikolaev’s tenor lacked any kind of acoustic quality in the low end. By the time the two were trading fours on Matassa’s “A Walk With Miss Begonia,” the sound was dialed in, and the marvelous trademark luminescence and range of the singer’s voice had dramatically appeared. Nikolaev, in a way the second voice of the band, sounded like his usual, soulful self. The remainder of the nearly two-hour set went off unhitched, with Matassa gathering in the audience and creating a welcoming vibe in the room—something she has consistently done throughout her 40 years of performing.

The highlight of the evening may have been Matassa’s dive in the tune known in English as “Yellow Days,” a bolero written as “La Mentira,” by Alvaro Carrillo. Made popular in the jazz world by a rare Duke Ellington / Frank Sinatra collaboration, she tiptoed into the melody with bare-bones accompaniment from Anderson on bass. With a blues-based vibe and an easy sense of swing, Matassa made the tune her own with a melodic scat run that gave one the sense that she was now fully engaged, and that the best was yet to come. It was the peak of the definable arc the performance embraced.

“If I Could” was a nod to Matassa’s interest in the music of Pat Metheny, nudging the spacious melody through with lyrics written by another Seattle music treasure—drummer Michael Shrieve. Monroney’s support on acoustic guitar and Anderson’s nimble bass solo brought this gorgeous melody to a melancholic place where Matassa could maneuver with romantic grace. The singer penned lyrics herself to Metheny’s “On Her Way,” a tune that enabled her to use her complete instrument. In the end, the lyrics allowed her to state the melody and improvise over the changes utilizing both words and scat figures on a tune that for most vocalists would be inaccessible. The tune also allowed guitarist Monroney to shine at last, the veteran working his way through the changes in spontaneous and melodic fashion. His work has certainly added a new dimension to the band, both as a lead and harmony voice.

Matassa referenced Seattle’s Jazz and Blues icons Ernestine Anderson and Ray Charles towards the end of the set, highlighted by a scat technique employing her hands in blues harp position, muting her voice a tad to accent the tune with her deep understanding of the blues form. Along with Tommy Flanagan’s swinger, “Cup Bearers,” these songs put Matassa smack dab in the middle of her expertise as a jazz singer who deeply understands the music’s foundational presence in the blues. “A Fool For You” shook the foundation of the audience, providing some jump and groove.

A large portion of the Jazz Alley crowd consisted of dedicated former and current students who have been mentored by Matassa over the past twenty-five years, something she referenced several times over the course of the evening. While most are not, and likely will never be professional singers, they all share in the joy that learning how to make music with the most personal instrument of all can bring. There was a lovely sense of closeness and community in the room from beginning to end of the performance and beyond. Paul Rauch All About Jazz  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/greta-matassa-sextet-at-jazz-alley

Greta Matassa: Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, New York, NY. April 25, 2011
Seattle-based vocalist Greta Matassa made her first new York City appearance at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on April 25. After hearing her first set, it was apparent that having her make the scene in the greatest of jazz centers was long overdue.
– Jersey Jazz Journal

Greta Matassa & Clipper Anderson: And to All a Good Night (Origin)
By Lee Mergner
In this beautifully recorded and produced album from the underrated Origin label, holiday music is given a set of exquisite and precise arrangements. The Seattle-based Matassa is the chief lead singer, although co-leader and bassist Anderson takes a turn in the spotlight on a few songs. The music could perhaps be described as West Coast cool jazz, but they mix up the rhythms pretty well. Matassa’s voice has a purity something like June Christy or Chris Connor and accordingly carries off the ballads with an austere beauty. In fact, austere beauty would be a good way to describe the entire session. The repertoire is not your usual group of songs, thanks to tunes like “November in the Snow” by Bill Mays and Mark Murphy, “Christmas Day” by Bacharach/David, and “Where Can I Find Christmas” by Doug Goodwin. This one may have to make an annual appearance in my household.
– Jazz Times

I Wanna Be Loved
After only a few tracks into my first listen of Matassa’s latest, numerous thoughts entered my mind: wow, this swings hard; tight arrangements; her scatting on the spirited opener “Broadway” is as confident, nimble and energetic as Ella’s; her phrasing is hip like Nancy Wilson; Matassa’s got her own unique style…
– Earshot Jazz

I Wanna Be Loved
Snappy, boppish, conversational- Greta Matassa is totally with her gutsy band-mates on this packed set of tight octet charts.
– DownBeat

Greta Matassa and Tula’s go together like Champagne and fizz
When it comes to Greta, it’s difficult for me to find the proper accolade…Audiences warm up to her right away. She utilizes top-notch players. She has the reputation that will bring in people who might not ordinarily come to Tula’s.
– The Seattle Times

The Smiling Hour
Greta Matassa’s voice is distinctive, with great individuality…Most enjoyable jazz vocal album I’ve heard in some time!
– Audiophile Audition

The Smiling Hour
“Her vocals are lilting where they should be, heavier where they should be, and she’s one of the few contemporary jazz vocalists that can pull off a proper round of scatting without coming off gimmicky”
– All Music Guide

Greta Matassa at the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation
“Matassa’s performance was a marvel of virtuosity.”
– Los Angeles Times

Favorites From A Long Walk
“Worldly, gentle, bold, dynamic, Favorites From a Long Walk is a gift for the heart. Greta Matassa is one of America’s finest singers, and stands firmly among the best in today’s jazz.”
– Jazz Review

Greta Matassa
“Greta’s dynamics and phrasing are always distinctive and exciting as she has tremendous range…a powerful, whiskey voice able to explore her own dimension.”
– The Voice 88.7FM

Home Sweet Homebody
“If Greta Matassa is not a jazz star outside of the Seattle area, it’s only because Matassa hasn’t performed much outside of the Seattle area.”
– The Oregonian

A Road Less Traveled: Greta Matassa’s ‘Favorites’
“Favorites is an album that may surprise many of Matassa’s fans.”
– Earshot Jazz

An Interview with Greta Matassa
“For her new album, Favorites From a Long Walk (Origin Records, 2005), which hits record stores in November, Matassa has looked beyond the standards and unearthed more than a dozen overlooked – yet timelessly classic – jazz tunes…”
– All About Jazz

Northwest Jazz Vocalist Greta Matassa
‘I’m doing a kind of quieter album…these songs haven’t been heard in a while.’
– NW Jazz Profile

Live at Tula’s
“This group is everything that you could want in a jazz band- hard swinging, fearless, sensitive, endlessly creative and technically brilliant.”
– JazzReview.com

Greta Matassa
“Greta Matassa was dazzling”
– The Stranger

Pascal, Matassa spread the good news
“A natural crowd-pleaser”
– All About Jazz

Greta Matassa: All This And Heaven Too
“Go find this record!”
– Planet Jazz

Vox cd reviews- Greta Matassa
“Echoing Rosie Clooney’s natural warmth and Nancy Wilson’s impeccable phrasing, Matassa moves from triumph to triumph”
– Jazz Times

Greta Matassa…In the Moment
Firey vocalist to sing the lead in PNB’s “Seven Deadly Sins”
“Vocalist Greta Matassa is a powerful and prominent voice in the Northwest jazz scene. Her vocal mastery allows her to come across husky, girlish, crisp or jaded.”
– Jazz Steps

Greta Matassa, “All This and Heaven Too; Live at Bake’s Place”
“Seattle native and jazz vocal genius Greta Matassa displays her impressive talent on her new, live recording, All This and Heaven Too.”
– Seattle Gay News

Matassa’s vocal passion powers “Ella & Billie”: tribute to jazz divas is singer’s tour de force
“A classy vocalist with a natural, hometown-girl stage presence”
– Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Group makes jazz come alive
“There was Matassa herself, whose voice can ping and pong along the highest riffs and effortlessly belt down to the darkest whiskey tones. She paid tribute to 14 legendary singers from Billie Holiday to Frank Sinatra, suggesting each singer’s spirit and style while making each song unmistakably her own.”
– Seattle Times

Jazz singer Matassa at home in “I’m a Stranger Here Myself”
“She’s so lighthearted and humorous. Her musicianship is so meticulous. Her voice is so lovely. Her stylings are so precise and detailed”
– Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Matassa hits the mark in Kurt Weill songfest
“Matassa phrases deftly and swings gently without muddying the songs’ melodic and rhythmic infrastructure. Her voice can remind you of Judy Garland’s.”
– Seattle Times

Greta Matassa
“Greta Matassa’s singing is touched by genius”
– Encyclopedia of Northwest Music

Matassa and Weill: musical chameleons
“A vocal chameleon herself, Matassa can sound husky or crisp, ebullient or wailing, girlish or jaded. She recalls Billie Holiday in one phrase, Cleo Laine in the next. Breathy at the top of her range, she also packs a warbling vibrato.”
– Seattle Times

Debut CD may give jazz singer Greta Matassa a new audience
“Featuring some of the top jazz sidemen in the Northwest, Got a Song That I Sing ranges from inventive bop to the hard swinging that Matassa is known for in her work with the big-band Jazz Police.”
– Tacoma News Tribune