Big band, big talent, big show
Courtesy photo Members of the Mataban Jazz Experience leap for joy during a photo shoot ahead of their June 26 show at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene. The 18-year-old director, musician and composer Joseph Mataban, in white, formed the group when he was just a junior at Lake City High School. “It is the most fun thing in the world, getting to teach kids my age and getting them to play all this really, really difficult music. It’s amazing,” Mataban said.
Lake City High School graduate Joseph Mataban, front right, walks with his band, the Mataban Jazz Experience, during a recent photo shoot. The nearly 20-piece big band comprises musicians between the ages of 18 and 24 who will be bringing their swinging sound to the Kroc Center for the Mataban Jazz Experience Live concert June 26. (Courtesy photo)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — He was only 9 years old when he picked up a guitar and began to play a famous Beatles song, no problem.
"He was playing 'Blackbird' as though he’d been playing for 20 years," said Joseph Mataban's mom, Cori Jones-Mataban.
When he was little, Joseph would ask his mom to rewind VHS tapes to the beginning and fast-forward to the end, just so he could hear the songs that played during the credits.
"Now, it makes a whole lot of sense," she said, adding that when it comes to music, "he eats, drinks, sleeps and breathes it."
Joseph, now 18, has directed his own band since he was in 11th grade. The 2017 Lake City High School graduate rehearses with his group, the Mataban Jazz Experience, every Saturday morning, savoring every note and celebrating every musician.
"It feels absolutely amazing," he said of leading the band. "I love all the guys, they're all my best friends. One of the guys in there I've known since first grade. He plays lead trombone and he’s a monster. It’s really awesome."
Joseph's taste in music transcends his young age. This hep cat frisks his whiskers to the sound of swing.
"I like the big band sound because it has this crazy loudness and power to it, and I have always loved that kind of stuff," he said.
He loves sharing this love of big band with his own big band, which comprises nearly 20 musicians, ages 18 to 24, who play instruments such as saxophones, electric guitars and trumpets.
"It is the most fun thing in the world, getting to teach kids my age and getting them to play all this really, really difficult music. It's amazing," Joseph said. "I always say they're doing all the hard work, I’m just standing in front waving my arms around."
Joseph and the Mataban Jazz Experience will be playing their first big gig at the Kroc Center at 7 p.m. June 26 during the Mataban Jazz Experience Live concert.
Audiences will be treated to the sounds of classic and modern big band music, as well as some of Joseph's original compositions and arrangements. His big sister, Madison, will be lending her vocal talent for a couple numbers.
"She is a fantastic singer," Joseph said. "She's going to be singing two songs, and they're going to be absolutely fantastic."
The band has previously played smaller locations, but with as many as 200 people wanting a piece of the action, a bigger venue was necessary.
"These are all young, passionate, dedicated musicians of really high caliber. It's unbelievable," Cori said. "Music for Joseph, it can't not happen just because he won’t ever stop."
Tickets to Mataban Jazz Experience Live are $8 (plus tax) and are available at www.kroccda.org.