First They Came

by Reggie Watkins and Matt Parker
BYNK #S100

Personnel
Reggie Watkins - trombone
Matt Parker – tenor saxophone
Michael Bernabe - piano
Eli Naragon - bass
Jason Washington Jr. - drums

Producers - Matt Parker and Reggie Watkins
Poem “First They Came” by Pastor Martin Niemöller “Contemplation” by McCoy Tyner
Video Filmed by James Prude
Live recording by Jay Weaver
Mixed and Mastered by Matt Parker
Performed live at Andrew Carnegie Music Hall, Carnegie, Pennsylvania, March 29, 2025

A Performance in Three Movements
Something powerful happened at Carnegie Music Hall that night in March. What started as three separate pieces revealed itself as something that needed to be heard as one continuous journey.

First They Came – A Performance in Three Movements

When trombonist Reggie Watkins took the stage at Carnegie Music Hall in Carnegie, PA, he brought something more than music—a response to the times we're living in. What unfolded were three distinct pieces: an improvised drone, a poem reading, and McCoy Tyner's "Contemplation."

What began as a moment meant for those in the room that night took on new life when James Prude captured a 4-minute video of the drone and poem segment. That footage revealed something powerful enough to warrant digging deeper—tracking down the full board recording to see what else had been preserved.

When the complete audio emerged, it became clear why Reggie had chosen to present these three pieces together that night. The way "Contemplation" followed the poem created a natural arc that demanded to be experienced as one continuous 14-minute journey.

The centerpiece features First They Came, the powerful poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), written in the aftermath of World War II as a reflection on personal responsibility and collective silence in the face of oppression. Reggie Watkins delivers the poem with a small but meaningful adaptation, bringing a deeper personal resonance to its timeless message.

The video honors this intention, playing much of the piece against a black screen, creating space for the words and sounds to land without distraction. In a world of constant visual noise, "First They Came" asks listeners to simply be present with what they're hearing—from beginning to end.

RIVERS

by Reggie Watkins
BYNK #005

Rivers
Trombonist and composer Reggie Watkins channels decades of experience, deep Pittsburgh roots, and a spirit of collaboration into Rivers—his fourth studio album and first composed entirely of original music. Known for his powerful tone and expressive phrasing, Watkins has toured and recorded extensively with icons like Maynard Ferguson and Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band. On Rivers, he leads a tight, intergenerational Pittsburgh-based quartet through a dynamic and deeply personal set of post-bop originals.

Recorded during a creative surge that followed the lockdown of 2020, Rivers reflects Watkins’ connection to family, mentors, and the legacy of his hometown. The music pays tribute to heroes like Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman, and Jimmy Knepper, while also honoring his children and close collaborators. At once grounded and forward-looking, Rivers is a statement of identity, craft, and community from one of modern jazz’s most compelling trombone voices.

Personnel
Reggie Watkins - trombone
Michael Bernabe - piano
Eli Naragon - bass
Jason Washington Jr. - drums

Producers - Matt Parker and Reggie Watkins
Album Design and Photography - Sienna Watkins

All About Jazz gives 'Rivers' ★★★★ saying “Very few practitioners of the trombone manage to conjure a sound so beautiful, and an approach with such soulful intent. Rivers is the jazz public’s best access to his playing to date.”

Reggie Watkins Releases Rivers, His Most Personal Album Yet

Trombonist and composer Reggie Watkins returns with Rivers, his fourth studio album and first comprised entirely of original compositions. Rooted in the legacy of Pittsburgh’s jazz scene, the album is a reflection on family, mentors, and the musical journey that has shaped Watkins over decades of touring and recording. Backed by a tight, intergenerational quartet—Michael Bernabe (piano), Eli Naragon (bass), and Jason Washington Jr. (drums)—Rivers blends post-bop, blues, and lyrical expression into a cohesive and deeply personal statement.

Recorded in Pittsburgh and released on BYNK Records, Rivers showcases Watkins' bold trombone voice and compositional depth. From heartfelt tributes to jazz legends to playful reflections on parenthood, the album captures the energy of a working band and the spirit of a musician rooted in community. Rivers is now available on all major streaming platforms and through Bandcamp for physical and digital purchase.

Parker Plays X

by Richard X Bennett and Matt Parker
BYNK #004

Album Bio
Parker Plays X is a captivating jazz album that showcases the exceptional talents of Parker, an original and exciting improviser with over 20 years of performance experience. Released last year, this album highlights Parker's ability to blend traditional jazz elements with modern influences, creating a unique sound that resonates with listeners. The album features a mix of original compositions and innovative arrangements, demonstrating Parker's versatility and deep understanding of jazz music. Recorded with top-notch production quality, "Parker Plays X" is a testament to Parker's dedication to pushing the boundaries of jazz and captivating audiences with every note.

PERSONAL:
SAXOPHONIST AND PRODUCER MATT PARKER
PIANIST RICHARD X BENNETT
BASSIST ADAM ARMSTRONG
DRUMMER JULIAN EDMOND

Downbeat Magazine chooses 'Avid Admirer' for their July '16 EDITORS’ PICKS

Parker Plays X Press Release

Richard X Bennett & Matt Parker Unite on Parker Plays X, Out May 5 on BYNK Records

Parker Plays X marks the first co-led recording by pianist-composer Richard X Bennett and saxophonist Matt Parker. This dynamic collaboration brings together Bennett's groove-centric compositions and Parker's avant-garde improvisational style. Accompanied by bassist Adam Armstrong and drummer Julian Edmond, the quartet explores a dozen Bennett originals that traverse a spectrum of jazz styles—from straight-ahead bebop and classic jump blues to avant-garde explorations.

Avid Admirer

by Reggie Watkins
BYNK #003

Album Bio
Trombonist Reggie Watkins delivers a deeply personal tribute to Jimmy Knepper on his third CD. Avid Admirer was first set in motion by his mother Liz's friendship at church in Wheeling, circa 2013, with a woman who was the widow of Jimmy Knepper. After Maxine Knepper passed the following year, Jimmy's daughter Robin Knepper Mahonen donated her father's collection of musical instruments to Watkins. "Dad made me promise that his horns would go to a musician," Mahonen writes in the CD liner notes. "Reggie Watkins is the man that will take up these horns and give them a voice again."

WITH SUPPORT FROM
MATT PARKER, TENOR SAXOPHONIST/CO-PRODUCER
PIANISTS ORRIN EVANS & TUOMO UUSITALO
BASSIST STEVE WHIPPLE &
DRUMMER REGGIE QUINERLY

Downbeat Magazine chooses 'Avid Admirer' for their July '16 EDITORS’ PICKS

Avid Admirer Press Release

Trombonist Reggie Watkins had the opportunity to meet trombone master Jimmy Knepper just once, shortly before Knepper’s death in June 2003. Watkins was performing in his native Wheeling, WV with Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band, and Knepper, himself a Ferguson alumnus, was in the audience. The older musician complimented Watkins after the concert and shook his hand.

Little did Watkins realize that a series of remarkable circumstances ten years later would lead him to record an album of Knepper compositions, played on the late musician’s Bach Stradivarius 36 trombone. The CD in question, Avid Admirer: The Jimmy Knepper Project, will be released on Matt Parker’s BYNK Records on July 13.

Present Time

by Matt Parker
BYNK #002

Album Bio
Tenor and soprano saxophone virtuoso and visionary composer Matt Parker made a vivid impression with his 2013 debut recording, Worlds Put Together. “Restlessly inventive” (DownBeat), Parker is “a fully formed artist with his own unique voice [who] sounds comfortable promenading down multiple paths” (All About Jazz) The past, present, and future of jazz brilliantly coexist on Present Time. Matt now blows his horns in the spare company of just bass and drums-- played by longtime colleagues Alan Hampton and Reggie Quinerly, respectively-- and more than rises to the challenge of the jazz trio format The NYC based Parker is known for playing with Maynard Ferguson, HessIsMore, his own Matt Parker Trio and Worlds Put Together. Few saxophonists have internalized so much of the instrument’s history in jazz as has Parker. In his playing, one hears echoes of Ben Webster’s gentle and brutish sides, Lester Young’s lyricism, Sonny Rollins’ unfettered imagination, Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s adventurousness, and the types of extended techniques associated with John Coltrane and Albert Ayler.

Downbeat Magazine gives 'Present Time' ★★★★1/2 STARS

JAZZIZ Magazine Features Matt Parker and his new album 'Present Time' in their summer issue (Click to View Article)

Press

“Straightahead or on the edge, saxophonist Matt Parker welcomes listeners with warmth and wit. 
- JAZZIZ Magazine

"Parker can do anything...he swings his ass off" 
- Outside-Inside-Out

"Show me someone who says jazz is no fun to listen to and I’ll show them Matt Parker." 
- Something Else

"Parker's playing can recall the gruff-yet-sensuous lines of Ben Webster" 
- Hot House

“Tenor and soprano sax whiz Matt Parker celebrates his second album Present Time ” 
- The Village Voice

"showcasing a chameleon-like style both hell-bent on defying jazz’ many sub-genres and putting his stamp on them all." 
- New York Jazz Record

“Previously unrecorded until now, Charles Mingus’ Song To Keki makes its first appearance on this record. Opening with a casually swinging melody, the tune builds momentum until Parker’s tenor seems like it will come apart in his hands.” 
- Ottawa Citizen

Present Time Press Release

The past, present, and future of jazz brilliantly coexist on Present Time, the second album by tenor and soprano saxophone virtuoso and visionary composer Matt Parker. A follow-up to his acclaimed 2013 debut, Worlds Put Together, the present disc consists of seven Parker originals, one old standard, and a previously unrecorded tune by the late, great Charles Mingus. And whereas Worlds Put Together found the leader surrounded most of the time by bass, drums, piano, guitar, and alto saxophone, he now blows his horns in the spare company of just bass and drums—played by Alan Hampton and Reggie Quinerly, respectively—with vocalist Emily Braden added on three tracks and Jerome Jennings shaking a tambourine on another.

Few saxophonists have internalized so much of the instrument’s history in jazz as has Parker. In his playing, one hears echoes of Ben Webster’s gentle and brutish sides, Lester Young’s lyricism, Sonny Rollins’s unfettered imagination, Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s adventurousness, and the types of extended techniques associated with John Coltrane and Albert Ayler.

WORLDS PUT TOGETHER

by Matt Parker
BYNK #001

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, Matt Parker connects the stylistic dots between Lester Young and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He moved to New York City in 1999 where he has had the opportunity to work with musicians such as Junior Mance, Jane Ira Bloom, Reggie Workman, Charlie Persip and many others. He spent two years with Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band. Matt can be heard on the band's M.F. Horn VI: Live at Ronnie Scott's. His debut album "Worlds Put Together" includes a remarkable continent of players who are leaders in their own right, among them are pianist Jesse Elder,  drummer Reggie Quinerly, saxophonist Julio Monterrey, guitarist Josh Mease, and bassist Alan Hampton. It’s a band that navigates Parker’s classic-cum-modern style exceptionally well. “A warmly swinging showcase for his breathy, Ben Webster-esque flow,” said Time Out New York. “It’s time to make the acquaintance of this rising star” effused Something Else Reviews. Downbeat Magazine named Worlds Put Together one of the best albums of 2014 saying “Parker is restlessly inventive…This promising debut makes him an album-maker to keep tabs on.”Downbeat Magazine named 'Worlds Put Together' as one of the Best Albums of 2014

Downbeat Magazine named 'Worlds Put Together' as one of the Best Albums of 2014

PRESS

**** "Something fresh is afoot on tenor saxophonist Matt Parker’s impressive debut, Worlds Put Together .… Restlessly inventive … This promising debut makes him an album-maker to keep tabs on."

—Josef Woodard, DownBeat

Album of the Year: "Even given the expanded definition of what is “real” jazz, Worlds Put Togetheroften comes right up to my imaginary fence that separates this music from the avant-garde. Parker’s big, scary, emotional tone sometimes conjures up the spirit of Albert Ayler. … But Parker is more like Ayler without creating the urge to reach for Excedrin; there’s joy and fun in everything he does. … Parker dutifully worships at the mantle of tradition (he sublimely covers “Darn That Dream”) but then turns it on its ear. … Or is that “knocks it on its ass”? Either way, it’s a joy ride from one corner of the idiom to the opposite one."

—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

"Crazily exuberant and undeniably soulful. … Some tracks go flying off the rails, but that just makes it more exciting. Just a very fun album. Find of the Week."

—Dave Sumner, Bird Is the Worm

"Parker succeeds admirably in demonstrating an abiding reverence for jazz’s heritage without being overly shackled by its conventions."

—Seton Hawkins, Hot House

"What makes Worlds Put Together an accomplished and brilliant release is its ingenuity and its inventiveness. Parker has arrived on the creative music scene a fully formed artist—one with his own unique voice and singular vision."

—Hrayr Attarian, All About Jazz

"A warmly swinging showcase for his breathy, Ben Webster-esque flow."

—Time Out New York

"Parker can’t be pigeonholed into just one tradition. … The saxophonist sounds comfortable promenading down multiple paths."

—Mark Corroto, All About Jazz

"Matt Parker may well be one of the most original and exciting tenor players to arrive on the scene in a decade. An inspiring performance!"

—Brent Black, Critical Jazz

Worlds Put Together Press Release

Matt Parker isn’t eccentric or reclusive—far from it, he’s super-friendly and down to earth—and his work isn’t primitive or obscure. But there’s still something of the outsider artist in the 34-year-old tenor saxophonist. A Fort Lauderdale native who is now part of Brooklyn’s inspired jazz scene, he is largely self-taught and self-directed. On his striking debut album, Worlds Put Together, he lives up to the title by connecting the stylistic dots between Lester Young and Rahsaan Roland Kirk—a magical feat considering he never listened to Kirk until people who heard the album brought up his name.