2nd December 2015: Features in Jazzwise and Grand Guitars Magazine for Matthew Stevens this month as ‘Woodwork’ launches in Europe.

NYC-based Guitarist and composer Matthew Stevens is heralded as one of the most promising young artists in contemporary jazz music through his associations with NEXT Collective, Christian Scott, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Walter Smith III, and Harvey Mason. Now Stevens comes fully into his own with his debut recording as a leader, Woodwork.
Woodwork places the sound of Stevens’ guitar front and center, achieving a full-bodied resonance that captures the immersive feeling of a live concert experience.

The album’s title, Stevens says, reflects the almost tactile way in which he creates music. “It’s a metaphor for how I see myself interacting with sound. Woodwork is an act of creation in collaboration with the natural world; it invokes a sense of being handmade or one of a kind. These raw materials exist regardless of whether or not you do something with them, so I try to respect that and let the music unfold naturally.”

Recently Matthew has been featured in Jazzwise Magazine (website) and been interviewed for Germany’s Grand Guitars Magazine. (scroll down to see)

Favourable press reviews continue to come in for Woodwork, like this one from Dutch periodical Jazz Flits:

“​Not​ predictable or ​following well ​trodden paths, ​​but ​​his own distinct statement…his (Stevens) sound incorporates all the ​elements of ​jazz ​today.”
Jazz Flits (NL) (website)

and this from Sandy Brown Jazz (read)