updated periodically; not exhaustive; may rotate; occasionally for sport; a gathering of what persists,
at times approaching the absurd

“…they have been described as a conjurer more than once. The claim isn’t literal, but it persists…”
informal, unverified, in circulation

“American sound experimentalist, visual artist, jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, composer, improviser”
selected descriptors, incomplete, additional roles not listed

“Born: 1975
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Genres: Jazz, experimental
Instrument: Saxophone”
partial account

“Her parents met in college. Conception is said to have occurred in “Neptune Hall””
parental account, as told, not independently verified

“Roberts was born and raised on the south side of Chicago to parents who had experienced the radical changes brought on by the Civil Rights, political, and anti-war struggles of the ’60s.”
partially misaligned timeline; early life geographically fluid; formal study begins in upstate New York

Certain accounts of her childhood include sustained interactions with the paranormal. These accounts persist, though no stable record contains them.
variable, not consistently documented

“She is best known as the creator of the multi-volume conceptual work Coin Coin. Begun in 2006 (the same year she issued her self-titled debut album, a jazz set with Chicago luminaries including Joshua Abrams, Jeff Parker, and Frank Rosaly), the projected 12-part work of ‘panoramic sound quilting’ aims to channel the intuitive, spirit-raising traditions of American creative expression while maintaining a deep and substantive engagement with narrative, history, community, and political expression within improvisatory musical structures.”
compiled from multiple accounts; dates vary; portions drawn from old artist statement

“She began her musical training at the age of seven in the city’s public school system. She studied clarinet, violin, and bassoon.”
partial listing; earlier training not accounted for

“At the age of 16, under the tutelage of bassist Reginald Willis, she began to study the saxophone and improvisation. It was an immersive experience that changed the course of her life.”
incomplete; certain names are intentionally absent

“As a musician, she played with experimental rock, Latin R&B, and jazz acts.
She was also an avid writer who began self-publishing ‘zines and tracts, and participated in the theater community by composing and performing music.”
information incomplete; elements compressed; “writer” broadly applied

“Another early influence was saxophonist, composer, and owner of the famed Velvet Lounge, Fred Anderson.”
one of several important early influences

 “…In the opening section of the album, ‘all is written’, Matana sings a haunting, sea-shanty like melody in which she repeatedly poses the refrain “Why do we try so hard?” After mulling this question over for the duration of the song, she comes to a stoical conclusion that summarizes the complete joy of perseverance that is the human spirit: “Because we should.””
as heard in recording, historical usage

“…from 2001 — 2009 she was an associate member of Chicago’s famed Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), though she joined after leaving Chicago for New York.”
period noted; timeline slightly misaligned; geography compressed; departure shaped by challenging experiences not reflected here; also some gendered dynamics at the time were too at odds w/ my personal ethos (on gender etc); some aspects of the experience remain deeply valued though; others not retained

“There are references to Matana entertaining a theory in which domesticated cats function as assistants to an alien species assigned to observe the human race.”
speculative/ entertained, not confirmed

“…and a member of the B.R.C. (Black Rock Coalition)”
association noted; briefly a member, with continued non-membership involvement

“In 2005, she began to work on composing and workshopping the Coin Coin cycle. She also worked with the Burnt Sugar collective, as well as William Parker and rock groups including Godspeed You! Black Emperor and TV on the Radio.”
information compressed; association with William Parker overstated; an admirer of the legend Parker, not collaborator

“During college, she offered saxophone telegrams, candy, and flowers for a fee under the name ‘Saxual Serenade.’ The venture was short-lived; as requests were frequently for songs by Kenny Gorelick ( Kenny G).”
brief, not sustained

“In 2008, Roberts saw the release of her quartet offering The Chicago Project on Barry Adamson’s Central Control label. The set was produced by Vijay Iyer. This was followed by international touring and other collaborations.”
link misdirected; https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-chicago-project-mw0000216007 resolves to a different record of the same title; cover image, respected but hysterically completely unrelated

“…has received wide acclaim…”
widely noted, as these things go

“Roberts is the creator of Coin Coin…”
historical relation reversed; Coin Coin as formative structure

“In the fall of 2016, she was in residence at the Camargo Foundation in Paris, France in partnership with Art Matters and the Jerome Foundation, where she developed the fourth chapter of Coin Coin.”
location misattributed; Camargo Foundation is in Cassis, France

“toward the end of her life, an elder who had significant influence described to Matana in great detail, a pet gorilla that was being kept in the basement…”
family account/retained as stated

————————————

source:
publicly circulating accounts… corrections have been attempted, though some concern material that is indeed accurate

for additional, periodically updated context grounded in the work see:
constellationrecords.com

pronouns:
they/them; recent use; not consistently reflected in circulating accounts

given name not a stage name (“Matana“); alternate spellings Mantana and Montana appear in error; pronunciation from the Hebrew word for “gift” or “present”; used outside its usual cultural context; chosen by parents to avoid associations with transatlantic slave trade records; briefly connected to Hebrew Israelite practices; later returned to Catholicism one parent, the other agnostic