Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O

Please join us for an afternoon of Christmas cheer!

The KC Holiday big band and Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O will provide a concert benefiting Future Jazz KC, a local jazz education organization that gives our young jazz musicians opportunities to learn from the area's most accomplished jazz musicians. A portion of each ticket sale goes toward funding this wonderful organization.

About Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O

The year 2024 marked the 60th birthday of the beloved drummer, composer, and bandleader Matt Wilson. It also celebrates the 15th anniversary of one of Matt's acclaimed ensembles, the Christmas Tree-O, featuring multi-reed legend Jeff Lederer and revered bassist Paul Sikivie.

The band performed their first concert on December 9, 2009, in Brooklyn, NY. They then recorded their seminal album, Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O, at Maggie's Farm studio on a snowy May day in 2010. The album was released in the fall of 2010 by Palmetto Records. Since then, the band has performed extensively across the United States and Canada. Their annual sold-out engagements at the Jazz Standard (now held at Dizzy's) have become a New York City holiday tradition. The band has featured a range of music legends as guests, including Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, Kurt Elling, Aaron Diehl, Christian McBride, Marshall Allen, Esperanza Spaulding, Nels Cline, Camilla Meza, and Cecile McLorin Salvant.

In June 2024, the trio traveled through icy highways to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to record their second album, Tree Jazz: The Shape of Christmas to Come. A week later, after the thaw, they welcomed the Treedom Singers—Mary LaRose, Audrey Wilson, and Gregory Rodriguez—to add their vocal magic to the recording.

About Future Jazz KC

Future Jazz KC is a 501c3 federally recognized non-profit based in Kansas City. We provide performance and educational experience for musicians grades 6-12 and professionals alike.

Future Jazz Mission Statement

The mission of Future Jazz is to cultivate, expand and enrich the community for Jazz and improvised music through education, performance, and advancement. Developing the musicianship of all our students is the foundation of our curriculum. We believe that the lessons learned from hard work, the empathy required of music making and the openness and curiosity essential to creativity—are critical to achievement in any pursuit, musical or otherwise. We also believe that music is a powerful catalyst for the kind of personal growth central to any educational experience.

Future Jazz was founded by the Artistic Director, Marcus Lewis, in 2015. It started with the vision of a summer jazz camp. This is an ideal experience for musician students interested in gaining performance experience, knowledge about jazz, making new friends or working with pros in an intensive jazz learning environment. Instruction is geared towards students playing any brass, woodwinds (including flute and clarinet), and rhythm section instruments including drums, vibes piano, guitar, and bass. It was a success and Marcus wanted to figure out a way to get the community involved. So hence was the birth of Future Jazz.

Future Jazz Philosophy

Future Jazz was founded on three revolutionary ideas: that jazz music represents freedom through expression, that is truly an American art form that has helped to bring people together from all ethnicities and backgrounds and has always been culturally relevant. While our ideas remain constant, the music around us has and requires that we evolve with it.

We are committed to this approach by wholeheartedly embracing change. We update our curriculum and technology to make them more relevant and attract diverse students who reflect the multiplicity of influences in today’s music. We also continue to widen the network of industry professionals who use their openness, virtuosity, and versatility to take music in surprising new directions.