Matthew Whitaker grows from phenom to phenomenal on timely new album Connections, out August 13 on Resilience Music Alliance

Listen to lead single "Stop Fighting" and read an interview with Matthew via WBGO: https://www.wbgo.org/music/2021-06-25/matthew-whitaker-confronts-racial-injustice-on-the-first-single-from-his-sweeping-new-album-connections

At just 20 years old, Matthew Whitaker has already shared his powerful story and ascent to the biggest stages in jazz with 60 Minutes and The Today Show; but on the young star pianist’s new album Connections (out August 13 via Resilience Music Alliance), he takes a bold step forward in defining for himself, on his own terms and in his own words, what it truly means to be Matthew Whitaker. This shines through in his collaborations with the genre's present day stars, like Jon Batiste and GRAMMY-winning producer Derrick Hodge (Robert Glasper, Q-Tip), in songs that signal “a new direction in his artistic expression” as NPR’s Nate Chinen notes, and in arrangements that transcend traditional jazz and draw from R&B, Latin, Gospel and so much more. 

On Connections’ 16 tracks, Whitaker “doesn’t kick off a tune or improvisation as much as plunge into the music, twisting time,” GRAMMY-winning jazz scholar Ashley Kahn notes - also calling attention to Matthew’s “deepening confidence and rhythmic vigor.” In the midst of all this, Whitaker tells his own story most directly through the album’s riveting spoken word pieces, where he unflinchingly shares his experiences of perseverance while rising to the top of the genre after being born three months premature and blind.

On lead single "Stop Fighting," Matthew’s journey of self-discovery finds him reflecting on his experience as a young Black person in America this year. While offering a statement of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in three parts (even incorporating marching into the song's bridge), Matthew rallies against unjust killing and unnecessary violence, reflecting on "the past 400 years with slavery and how many people have been taken from us" and mourning the losses of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and far too many more. Listen to "Stop Fighting" and read an interview with Matthew and NPR's Nate Chinen via WBGO, who called the song "a new direction in Whitaker's musical expression": https://www.wbgo.org/music/2021-06-25/matthew-whitaker-confronts-racial-injustice-on-the-first-single-from-his-sweeping-new-album-connections

Amidst originals that uplift and call to action, Matthew reinterprets the work of heroes like Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk (on "Bye Ya," a sparkling duet with Jon Batiste). Throughout, Whitaker is joined by a full community of talented friends, many GRAMMY winners and accomplished band leaders in their own right, including Batiste, Hodge, Regina Carter, Alvester Garnett, Otis Brown III, Johnathan Blake, Endea Owens, Karim Hutton, Isaiah Johnson, Nêgah Santos, Marcos Robinson and Steve Oquendo. While Connections is ultimately a bold statement of maturation and identity for Matthew, it is this group that empowers him to find his voice in such courageous new ways.