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Jazz Articles about Matt Jorgensen
Chamber 3: Transatlantic
by Dan McClenaghan
Seattle-based drummer Matt Jorgensen tattoos every recording he releases with a mark of bold, clean modernity--whether working with his group Matt Jorgensen + 451 on Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008), or Tattooed By Passion (Origin Records, 2010). Add in scores of sideman slots. His is a distinctive sound, compositionally and instrumentally, on his own or backing his labelmates. Transatlantic is the second outing by the Jorgensen vehicle, Chamber 3, a follow up to ...
Continue ReadingChamber 3: Grassroots
by Dan McClenaghan
Do different geographies create different sounds? New York-hard and brassy, in your face and boppish; the Nordic countries--cool and reflective, spacious and dreamy; the American Midwest, Chicago and Detroit--soulful and hip with a hard urban edge. This is, of course, a simplification, with exceptions flying all over the place, but distinct similarities in sounds can be found in various locales, owed probably more to a certain level of local and/or stablemate nepotism than the local culture or particular cityscapes or ...
Continue ReadingMatt Jorgensen: Painting With Sound
by Joshua Weiner
Matt Jorgensen is a very busy man. A drummer and composer, he plays and records with a wide variety of musicians, including his own long-running quartet 451 and popular trumpeter and label-mate Thomas Marriott. Jorgensen also co-manages the Origin Records label, a thriving concern that has released over 300 discs since 1997, and that now encompasses two associated labels, OA2 and Origin Classical.He is also a family man, and it's a family connection that provided the spark for ...
Continue ReadingMatt Jorgensen: Tattooed by Passion: Music Inspired by the Paintings of Dale Chisman
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Matt Jorgensen pushes a bit out of the relative comfort zone of his longstanding Matt Jorgensen + 451 ensemble, to pay homage to his late father-in-law, abstract expressionist painter Dale Chisman, with Tattooed by Passion. With his + 451 group, Jorgensen crafted a distinctive modern-leaning sound on CDs Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008). He carries that tradition forward on Tattooed by Passion. Tight grooves are a part of Jorgensen's approach, which isn't ...
Continue ReadingMatt Jorgensen + 451: Another Morning
by Dan McClenaghan
Matt Jorgensen + 451 has created a distinctive music, a free flying jazz sound with a 1960s rock sensibility, bursting with enormous chops. It's a mix of Ryan Burns' often out there, Jimi Hendix-ian keyboard work (wailing on Fender Rhodes, organ and Moog ), Mark Tayor's bite-of-lime saxophone tang, Jorgensen's multi-layered percussion complexities and Phil Sparks' deep in the pocket bass work. Mix it up and it's unmistakable on the blindfold test.The group is a rhythm section and ...
Continue ReadingMatt Jorgensen: Seattle's New Sound
by Franz A. Matzner
Originally from Seattle, drummer, composer, and bandleader Matt Jorgensen began pursuing music relatively late. After only a few years of study during college, he picked up and left home to throw himself into the New York jazz scene. Now, ten years later, he’s formed a critically acclaimed ensemble, released his fourth album, and is co-owner of his own label, Origin Records. A young player expanding the sound of jazz with his distinctive compositions and sound, Mr. Jorgensen ...
Continue ReadingMatt Jorgensen + 451: Hope
by Dan McClenaghan
Do they still give out Grammy Awards for best cover art? If so, here's a nominee: a peaceful retriever in repose, chin on the floor, captured in a sanguine tone on Matt Jorgensen + 451's Hope. A great cover, of course, does not a successful CD make. It's the music. The music on Hope --a sax and rhythm section outing with additional sax on five of the eleven tunes, with the warm tones of a trombone ...
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