ABOUT CARY & THE DISSIDENTS
A Musical Journey
The creativity and musical talent of Cary&TheDissidents is unmistakable, and nothing can stop them from achieving the success they work so hard for. Highly influential and critically acclaimed, they are always reimagining musical boundaries and looking to leave their DNA on the modern generation of music.
CARY MATHEWS
Singer Songwriter, Guitar, Blues Harp
Cary Mathews has been creating music and songwriting since she had a fake ID at age 16 so she could play in local Cleveland bars of the past such as The Grapes of Wrath, Farraghers, and the very first Peabody’s Café. She went on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston and returned to Cleveland where she performed in a Jazz Fusion Band with the legendary Ralph Jackson.
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Cary was open to all genres of music and was a rhythm guitarist and vocalist for The Kosmic Kowboy Band, a southern rock band in the 80’s. Over the years she continued to write original music and lyrics. The Dissidents were invited by Phil Keaggy of Glass Harp to open for them during two night sold out shows at the Music Box.
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Cary reunited with Chris Chapman, a pianist she had worked with many years earlier before he moved to NY. Chris and his family had returned to Cleveland and the two started playing out at The Paris Room in Chagrin Falls and the iconic House of Swing. In addition to Chris, the current lineup of Cary&TheDissidents include Art Jensen on bass, Jim Cirillo on sax and Eric Vogt on percussion. Their sound is a soulful and eclectic vibe that embraces jazz, bossa, blues with hints of reggae. Cary has also performed solo, most recently at the CLE Urban Winery and the Rialto Theater in Akron.
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Currently, the band is planning on getting into the studio with the intention of a digital release Spring 2024.
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CHRIS CHAPMAN
Keyboards, Arrangements, Songwriter
Chris began his piano studies in the sixth grade and played in a variety of band genres through HS and college (R&R, bluegrass, funk, jazz) including a high school Motown group with current Dissident Marc Paige (The Coachmen). He also collaborated musically with Cary Mathews in the 1980’s.
During a thirty year robotics career in the NYC area, Chris studied jazz piano and composition with Norman Gold and Western music history with Walter Reinhold. Since returning to the Cleveland area in 2014 and retiring (2017) Chris has been studying locally with Jackie Warren (jazz & Latin piano, AfroCaribbean music, composition). He is also actively involved in a local Afro Caribbean summer music camp (Amistad Caribbean Arts Camp) run in conjunction with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio.
In 2016 he reconnected with Cary Mathews, and the Dissidents took their first ambitious steps out of the protoplasmic swamp - reader beware: full-fledged flight awaits!
ART JENSEN
Bass
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Art has been a presence in the Cleveland jazz and blues scene for over 40 years. He has studied with some of the great jazz legends including Chink Stevenson, Lou Desimone, Bobby McGuire and Jamey Abersold. Art recently participated in a Jazz Symposium held this past summer in Louisville KY.
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He co-hosts a jazz jam at the Millard Filmore, and is active in several music projects in NE Ohio. Art has been a Dissident for over two years and is a cool cat and a joy to perform with.
