Matthew Garrison

Member Since: 2006 | Location: New York City | Page Views: 2,996

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About Me

Matt plays bass and owns ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn and is the president of ShapeShifter Plus 501(c)(3)

Born June 2, 1970 in New York. There he spent, with his mother Roberta Escamilla Garrison and sister Maia Claire Garrison, the first seven years of his life immersed in a community of musicians, dancers, writers, visual artists, and poets. After the death of his father Jimmy Garrison (John Coltrane’s bassist), his family relocated to Rome, Italy, where he began to study piano and bass guitar. In 1988 Matthew returned to the United States and lived with his godfather Jack DeJohnette for two years. There he studied intensively with both DeJohnette and bassist Dave Holland. In 1989 Matthew received a full scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he began his professional career with the likes of Gary Burton, Bob Moses, Betty Carter, Mike Gibbs, and Lyle Mays, to mention a few. Matthew moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1994 and since then has performed, toured, and recorded with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Chaka Khan, Pino Daniele, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Peter Erskine, Marcus Miller, Mike Mainieri, Steve Coleman, Jim Beard, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Mino Cinelu, Rita Marcotulli, Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, John McLaughlin, Scott Kinsey, Scott Henderson, The Gil Evans Orchestra, Tito Puente, John Scofield, The Saturday Night Live Band, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Carlos Santana, Jon Batiste, and many others. The New York Times has described him as “an electric bass virtuoso.” His recordings as a leader include Matthew Garrison (2000), Shapeshifter (2004), Shapeshifter Live, and 12 Months; as a co-leader, In Movement (ECM, 2016) with Jack DeJohnette and Ravi Coltrane. In 1998 Matthew founded GarrisonJazz Productions, through which he produces, promotes, and markets his music. He has a long association with Fodera Guitars and continues to teach privately — video and in person — through garrisonjazz.com and the Matthew Garrison app. In 2012 Matthew opened, alongside his business partner Fortuna Sung, ShapeShifter Lab, which quickly became one of the most important and influential music venues in New York. Voted by Time Out New York (2013) as one of the best 10 venues in the city, and by DownBeat (2015–2018) as one of the best 160 jazz venues in the world, the space is a home for performance, audio and video capture, photo shoots, workshops, private events, lessons, and art exhibits. After the original Gowanus location closed during the 2020 pandemic, Matthew and Fortuna reopened ShapeShifter Lab in August 2023 at 837 Union Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where it continues as a live room, studio, and community hub. In 2014, Matthew, alongside Ravi Coltrane and Fortuna Sung, formed the nonprofit ShapeShifter Plus. This 501(c)(3) advances the artistic and educational work of ShapeShifter Lab. In 2021, Jack and Lydia DeJohnette joined the board of directors. In 2024 the organization collaborated with the John & Alice Coltrane Home to present Alice Coltrane’s work at the Lab. In 2021, Matthew and Fortuna, alongside their partner Jonathan Lott, founded ShapeShifter Lab Productions Inc, developing artist-owned software including TuneBend and the Matthew Garrison app. On July 4, 2026 they launched a new Matthew Garrison app — a living archive of albums, multi-angle performance clips, scores, lessons, and live streams — together with the artist site garrisonjazz.com. The work stands on three pillars: ShapeShifter Lab as an independent home for live creation; ShapeShifter Lab Productions as an independent software company; and ShapeShifter Plus as a community that grows through participation, membership, and live experience. Additional information and media: https://www.garrisonjazz.com https://shapeshifterlab.com https://shapeshifterplus.org https://shapeshifterlabpro.com