Browse by Artist: HALSALL, MATTHEW

Artist:	HALSALL, MATTHEW
Title:	Sending My Love
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 001CD

This is the first release by Gondwana Records -- a new independent jazz label based in Manchester, UK. Influenced by the likes of: Blue Note, Impulse, Strata East, Black Jazz, Soul Jazz, Jazzman and Tribe Records. Sending My Love is the debut release by Mancunian trumpeter/composer Matthew Halsall. Halsall has already proven his worth as a multifaceted musician -- he picked up the trumpet at just 6 years-old after being taken to a jazz gig by his parents, and from the age of 13, Matt has toured the world playing trumpet in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland and America. In more recent years, he has become increasingly drawn to creating his own music, and spends most of his time composing, recording and performing live. His current line-ups include: trumpet, saxophone, flute, harp, piano, double bass and drums. Matt has been described as a spiritual, free and meditative player who picks up from where the '60s modal explorations of Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis left off. Sending My Love is an album descended from modal jazz forms -- the form allowing greater scope within the compositions for the performers to express themselves. Initial listening suggests that the pieces here are firmly rooted in the traditions of these jazz forms. Upon further listening, what becomes apparent is that Matthew's playing is informed by a vast and varied appreciation of many musical styles: DJ Cam, Guru, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and St. Germain are as likely to be heard as Pharoah Sanders or Yusef Lateef. These influences filter through the ensemble's performances, but at the same time, the band retain a strict understanding and use of jazz forms. The end result is a jazz record of authenticity which will appeal not only to the jazz community, but also to fans of the laid-back sounds associated with Tru-Thoughts and Ninja Tune. The album features a superb ensemble of Manchester-based jazz musicians, which includes Jon Thorne (bass) (Lamb, Badly Drawn Boy) and Roger Wickham (flute/saxophone) (Nightmares On Wax, Aim, Rae & Christian). Both players are also members of Matt's other band The Magic Bop, a collective of the Northwest's finest jazz musicians. Other members include: Luke Flowers (drums) (The Cinematic Orchestra), John Ellis (piano) (The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim), Sneaky (bass) (Fingathing, Mr. Scruff) and Stan Ambrose (harp) (Super Numeri).

Artist:	HALSALL, MATTHEW
Title:	Colour Yes
Label:	GONDWANA (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	GOND 003CD

This is the second full-length album from UK trumpeter/composer/arranger/DJ/Gondwana label-head Matthew Halsall on Gondwana. His debut album Sending My Love (GOND 001CD) planted him firmly on the UK jazz map, and earned him praise across the board. Solid airplay from BBC Radio 1's Gilles Peterson (the album figured in his top 40 albums of 2008), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM) amongst others, culminated in a Maida Vale session for 6 Music. His debut offered a welcome return to form for UK jazz, and his second offering sees the committed performer and restless musician delivering six brand-new compositions. This time around, Matthew recruited the talents of Nat Birchall (sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), Gaz Hughes (drums), Marek Dorcik (drums) and Rachael Gladwin (harp), delivering yet another consistent and brilliant release. The effortless swing of the title track really defines what it is about Halsall's vision of jazz that gives him the upper hand; this is timeless music, it owes nothing to the past -- sure, there are comparison points, but all lead to music which is indeed already classic. An undeniable clarity is present throughout, themes are balanced and already sounding fully road-tested. "Together" is a transcendental modal ballad which fuels the spirit of Stan Tracey's "Starless And Bible Black" and Neil Ardley's "Shades Of Blue" as performed by Don Rendell and Ian Carr's Quintet. Utterly beautiful. "Mudita" is the jazz-dance feature that will be a hit with the Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp crowd; the spacial rhythm section plays like Bill Evan's classic trios, where the space between the notes almost means as much as the notes themselves. This not only shows a great respect for the past masters of modal exploration, but makes a bold step forward to re-establish British jazz as vital music as much in 2009 as it was in the mid-1960s. The addition of Rachael Gladwin's harp brings a sense of liquidity to the band, take it as read that Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane are honored forebears. By the album's close, the authoritative drive of this band truly seems to have transmitted themselves to a whole new astral plane.

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