Those who have been wowed by Ezra Furman's recent musical success as a junior in college should turn their attention to another remarkable up-and-coming musician: the 15 year-old Matt Savage, a musical whiz kid who has overcome autism to become one of the most hailed young jazz pianists.
Savage has played with jazz greats such as Wynton Marsalis and McCoy Tyner and has gigged around the world in such diverse locations as Tennessee, Ottawa and Curacao. This weekend, he will bring his talent to Tufts for a two-day engagement at the Distler Performance Hall in Tufts' Granoff Music Center. He plans on recording the shows, which he will perform with the Matt Savage Trio, for a live album.
Savage has already recorded eight LPs, the last of which, "Quantum Leap" (2006), garnered a lustrous 3.5-star review from "All Music Guide." As if that weren't enough, Savage has accomplished it all after being diagnosed with autism at three years old, when he had trouble tolerating music and struggled to communicate.
When asking Savage about how he has dealt with autism, an uncanny level of confidence comes through in his childish and friendly but simultaneously matter-of-fact voice. "It's more overcome than dealt with," he said.
"[I've overcome it] simply by not thinking about it. I don't think of someone with autism; I'm just an ordinary dude who plays the piano," he adds. "I don't think of myself as being autistic."
Savage is home-schooled and lives with his parents and younger sister on a farm in Francistown, N.H. He loves to talk about the tranquility of his rural home.
"It's awesome," he said, "It's just so pretty out. We have cows, we have cats .... I get to go outside, play with the barn cats; they're the most pampered barn cats ever."
Real animation ignites in Savage's voice when speaking about playing jazz.
"I'm all hyped up [about the upcoming Tufts concert]" he said.
"We really need to get this place full so we can rock a full house!" he said. "It's going to be the recording of my new live CD, 'Hot Ticket: Live in Boston.'"
Savage has already established himself as an eminent child prodigy, despite a disease that made it difficult to tolerate music or communicate with others when he was diagnosed with autism as a three-year-old. Famous saxophonist Jimmy Heath called Savage "the future of jazz," and legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck said, "I am amazed at Matt's musical ability at such an early age," according to Savage's Web site.
The 15-year-old is not satisfied with "prodigy" status.
"You have to build on levels," he explains. "First, you're the kid prodigy. Then you're the up-and-coming pianist. And some go as far as being a jazz great. It's all about [the fact that] you have to continue. You can't stop anywhere .... Well, I'm 15 now, but I'm going to pretend I'm 25."
On "Quantum Leap," Savage's sixth LP with the trio, one of the most remarkable aspects of his talent seems to be his skills of composition. While the young pianist's virtuosic piano stylings smack delightfully of major influences like Bud Powell and Keith Jarrett, it is the complex compositions, layered with creative harmonies, effortless interplay between the left and right hands, and swing-stoppin' band breaks that nab the listener's attention.
The album's opener, the original composition, "Give Me a Break," finds Savage weaving a chopped-up, syncopated puzzle, but at the same time constructing a hummable melody around bebop-infused harmonic patterns. As Savage hoists "Give Me a Break" to its climax at the end of the solo section, he trades solos with the drummer, hammering out dissonant chords with a subtle ferocity reminiscent of Chick Corea and Thelonious Monk, two of his idols.
Other notable compositions from Savage's latest release include "Curacao" and "Couch Potato Blues." The former is a hyperactive reinterpretation of Dizzy Gillespie's classic "A Night in Tunisia" that Savage wrote after playing a gig on the Caribbean island.
The chilled-out "Couch Potato Blues," on the other hand, has the sway and swagger of slow Oscar Peterson blues; it transports us back to the 1950s, where, in a jazz club somewhere in Chicago, Peterson lolls effortlessly through a smoky haze with his slow-strutting stride piano. Then, of course, we take another look at the title, and we're reminded that this is simply an ode to teenagerism and television being performed by a then-14-year-old.
Savage says to expect a very energetic set list this weekend, loaded with fast-paced and high-energy Latin tunes.
"This album is going to be more mature, but more fun and energetic-like with the beats," he says. "It's going to be a step forward, but still acknowledging the fact that you're still a kid - still fun. And this album is going to be fun."
Savage, who played on Conan O'Brien's show, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," has a busy gigging schedule. Still, he takes time out for his home-schooling, which has taken him to a 10-grade level so far.
Diane Savage, Matt's mother, said "[Teaching my son] is about the easiest task one could ever undertake. He learns everything by himself," she said. "Really, with Matt, we just give him the material ... and he absorbs it. He's like a little encyclopedia."
Matt, whose musical expertise comes in large part from his effortless and innate understanding of music theory, is also very fond of math.
"I like math; it's pretty cool," he said.
Diane said that Matt has improved dramatically since he recorded "Quantum Leap."
"Musically, he's matured an unbelievable level even in the last month," she said, "[At a gig last week], the bass player was shaking his head, and he said, 'Wow, even since [Matt's gig in] Tennessee [in August], he has just come so far.' He's at a new level. He's just at this sky-rocketing maturation process."
Tufts will be lucky enough to observe the rocket taking flight on Saturday and Sunday; jazz aficionados should be sure to catch this young star.
