Good Trouble

Lily Parker ’23/25

Described by Jazz Times as “dazzling,” Matt Wilson ’86 has scored a most impressive career. 

Matt Wilson ’86 has something to say.

But, as is the case with any good artist, he doesn’t just tell you outright. “By nature, the arts deal with human expression, and it’s the job of every artist to find their way, sonically or otherwise, to convey a message,” he says. “I want people to laugh at my concerts, I want them to cry. I want them to walk away thinking and walk away challenged.”

He adds, “I just try to do that implicitly, rather than explicitly.”

By every conceivable metric, Wilson has proved himself a good, if not legendary, artist. His ream of accolades — to name just a few: DownBeat’s “Rising Star Drummer” for five consecutive years, two-time Jazz Journalists Association “Drummer of the Year” awardee and 2016 inductee to the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame — and his running tally of greats with whom he has performed — far, far too many to begin to identify by name — reveal his undeniable musicianship, a trait obvious from each of the projects in his ever-growing catalogue. Wilson’s charm as a drummer lies as much in his talent as in his ability to entertain an audience, a responsibility he never takes lightly.

“Some people, they see ‘entertain’ as a bad word. They think it’s disingenuous, dishonest,” he explains. “But to me, entertaining is about being gracious. When you entertain someone in your home, you welcome them in. People can sense that kind of welcoming from a performance onstage, too.”

Over the years, the subject of Wilson’s message has varied. The Illinois native paid homage to his Midwestern roots on his 2017 record, “Honey and Salt,” through spoken-verse readings of Carl Sandburg’s poetry, complemented by a musical soundtrack that is sometimes gritty, often whimsical and always exciting. “An Attitude for Gratitude,” from 2011, is a thank-you letter to his late wife, Felicia ’86/87, and the community that rallied around them during her battle with leukemia. One of his latest projects, “Good Trouble,” stays playful and joyous without losing sight of its namesake, the commission from Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

It was an episode of the TV show “Here’s Lucy” featuring jazz drummer Buddy Rich that first piqued his interest in percussion. From there, he and his brother — with Wilson on drums and Mark on the alto sax — found ways to get in front of audiences in their hometown of Knoxville, Illinois, playing stages at 4H events, church gatherings and for their mom’s club meetings. His drum teacher helped connect him to local bands for weekend gigs. “That got me out in the community, playing with and learning from real professionals,” Wilson says. “I knew since then, that’s the life I wanted.”

And, after meeting WSU professor emeritus J.C. Combs at a percussion symposium at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981, he saw how he could obtain it. “The way Dr. Combs walked into the room, I’ll never forget it,” he says. “It’s more thrilling to watch paint dry than to sit through most percussion ensembles, but he performed in a way that was funny and exciting and kept you guessing what was coming next.”

Wilson moved down to Wichita in 1982 and, under the mentorship of Combs, gradually began building out his musical network throughout the city. “He was always adamant that we get off campus grounds and bring the message out to the people in the community,” Wilson says. “It was always, always about building a community.”

And for Wilson, that’s still what it’s all about. Even decades after graduation, he can easily rattle off a roll call of old Shocker friends: Todd Angstadt ’87, John Probst ’89, Kevin Findley ’88, Michael Cox ’86, Lisa Hittle ’87/91, Gary Gibson ’82/85, Andrew Bishop ’93, and on and on and on.

In April, the drummer had the chance to reconnect with a few of those individuals at the Wichita Jazz Festival, an annual event that he calls “instrumental — pardon the pun” during his development as a musician at WSU. “The only difference is, now, if my set lasts an hour, it’ll take me another two and a half hours just to make the rounds saying ‘hello’ to everybody,” he laughs.

Wilson accepts the task with gratitude, a familiar posture for the drummer. Having moved from apprentice to mentor in the jazz world, he’s gladly taken on new roles, including teaching at SUNY Purchase, the New School in NYC and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, in addition to a laundry list of workshops and masterclasses at universities and conferences around the world. He makes introductions for new artists when he can, and when he can’t, he makes opportunities to do so, like the annual “Avant Yarde Jazz Fest,” which he hosts in his backyard in Baldwin, New York. “The mentors I had went out of their way to create opportunities for me,” he says. “I see part of my role now as paying that forward for up-and-coming artists.”

No matter the audience — guests, students or fellow entertainers — Wilson aims to impart a single lesson, short and sweet: Stay open to what may lie ahead. “The way Dr. Combs walked in, I still remember it,” he says. “You just never know how something that small can change your life. You just have to get out there and try something and be as bighearted as possible.”

And whether Wilson’s performing, producing, teaching, writing or seeking inspiration somewhere, it’s obvious that’s still his strategy.