Live at Moondog - Matt Zebley

Live at Moondog is alto saxophonist Matt Zebley's debut recording, captured live at the Moondog venue and released on Vibrant Productions in 2000. The album features a three-horn front line of Zebley on alto saxophone, Ron Stout on trumpet, and Alan Ferber on trombone, backed by bass and drums. The program consists primarily of Zebley originals alongside a few standards, including Benny Golson's "Stablemates." Recorded live to two-track tape, the session captures the ensemble's working repertoire with the energy and spontaneity of a club performance, emphasizing tight horn voicings and swinging collective interplay. Zebley, a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the University of Southern California, draws on hard bop arranging traditions, writing for the three horns in a way that balances composed passages with open solo sections. The album showcases all three horn players as strong individual voices — Stout's crisp trumpet, Ferber's fluid trombone, and Zebley's own inventive alto work — within a framework that keeps the ensemble cohesive and the arrangements focused.