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Matthew Garrison

Born June 2, 1970 in New York. Here 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. Here 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. Here 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 Ndege Ocello, Joni Mitchell, Whitney Houston, Wayne Shorter, Jack Dejohnette, Steve Coleman, Jim Beard, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Rita Marcotulli, Bill Cosby, Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson, Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, John Mclaughlin, Scott Kinsey, Scott Henderson, The Gil Evans Orchestra, Tito Puente, Mike Gibbs, John Scofield, The Saturday Night Live Band, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny and many others. In 1998 Matthew founded GarrisonJazz Productions through which he currently Produces, Promotes and Markets his music. The latest projects are "Shapeshifter Live 2010 - Part 1, Matthew Garrison Solo", "12 Months" and "GarrisonJazz Productions Music Center" a website which provides a modern approach to music education, production and proliferation. In 2012 Matthew opened, alongside his business partner Fortuna Sung, ShapeShifter Lab which is quickly becoming one of the most important and influential music venues in New York. The Brooklyn based venue features performances by the most important artists on the music scene today and has been voted by Time Out New York (2013) as one the best 10 venues in NY, and by Downbeat (2014) as one of the best 160 jazz venues in the world. The space is also a place for audio and video capture, photo shoots, workshops, private events, lessons, art exhibits amongst a variety of other possibilities that can take place within the 4,200 square foot location. In 2014, Matthew, alongside Ravi Coltrane and Fortuna Sung, formed the non-profit organization ShapeShifter Plus.

Christian McBride, David Fiucznyski, Matthew Garrison, Benny Reitveld

by Len Davis
September 2, 2022

Jazz fusion with Christian McBride from Vertical Vision, bassist Benny Reitveld from Mystery Of Faith, and Matthew Garrison from Shapeshifter.Playlist Christian McBride “Technicolor Nightmare" from Vertical Vision (Warner) 00:00 David Fiuczynski “Roxy Migraine" from Kif (Fuzelicious Morsels) 0:08:04 Benny Reitveld “Anybody There" from Mystery Of Faith (Glacierboy) 16:05 El Grupo “Birdland" from El Grupo—Live (El Grupo) 24:06 Matthew Garrison “I Can See You Now" from Shapeshifter (GJP) 32:13 Steve Marcus-Larry Coryell “Reunion" fromCounts Jam Band Reunion (Tone Centre) ...

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Album Review

Matthew Garrison: Shapeshifter Live 2010 Part 1

Read "Shapeshifter Live 2010 Part 1" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
January 24, 2011

Were it not for demanding touring/recording schedules for an impressive A-list of jazz and pop musicians, bassist/composer Matthew Garrison's discography as leader would surely amount to more than the two studio recordings and one live recording up to 2004. Nevertheless, six years on, Shapeshifter Live 2010 Part 1 is cause for celebration among those who like their music cutting edge and searching. Garrison harnesses computer technology and loops to manipulate pre-programmed material, accompanied by his powerfully probing bass improvisations. It's ...

626

Interview

Matthew Garrison: Core Matter

by Ian Patterson
January 24, 2011

Bassist/composer Matthew Garrison is, without a doubt, one of the most technically gifted musicians of his generation. Over the last two decades he has been employed by such high-caliber leaders as [pianist-keyboardists] Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock and Geri Allen; [saxophonists] Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker and Steve Coleman; [guitarists] John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Scofield; [drummers] Jack DeJohnette, Gary Husband and Terri Lyne Carrington. This impressive list tells only a part of the story, for Garrison is equally feted by pop ...

454

Album Review

Matthew Garrison: Shapeshifter

Read "Shapeshifter" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
September 16, 2004

Few electric bassists on the scene today haven't been heavily touched by the influence of the late Jaco Pastorius. Whether directly in style, as in the case of Michael Manring, or less overtly, as in the case of Marcus Miller, Jaco's sound and open approach to the instrument continue to be felt nearly twenty years after his untimely death. While bassist Matthew Garrison, who has developed a strong reputation as sideman for artists including Herbie Hancock and John McLaughlin, can't ...

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Extended Analysis

Sunrise Falling: Gene Ess

by Phil DiPietro
February 12, 2004

Gene Ess Sunrise Falling Amp Records 2003

Even if you knew who Gene Shimosato was, you're still going to be surprised when you hear Gene Ess! Fans of electronic music and fusion will be most pleasantly surprised with Sunrise Falling. Ess lays it on thick with the aural fruits from expert tinkering with his self-built, PC-based studio and tweaked-out tones produced from a diverse arsenal of axes. An absolutely world-class core rhythm tandem of ...

401

Album Review

Matthew Garrison: Matthew Garrison

Read "Matthew Garrison" reviewed by Phil DiPietro

by Phil DiPietro
October 1, 2000

In the world of improvisatory music, the releases which spellbind are those which simultaneously are at the cutting edge and hit extremely deep on an emotional level compositionally, while at the same time throw down the gauntlet in terms of the pure technical level of virtuosity on display by the instrumentalist who is the leader of the date, saying to the community of listeners and musicians alike, “I am the baddest!".

In the smaller world of electric bass, even the ...

Recording

Four Formidable Fusioneers Join Forces in All-Star Outing

Source: Big Hassle
March 29, 2011

Keyboardist Scott Kinsey, bassist Matthew Garrison, Armenian percussionist-vocalist Arto Tuncboyacian and drummer Gary Novak form Human Element for self-titled April 19 debut on Abstract Logix In the tradition of Weather Report and the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, two powerhouse pan-global bands that have greatly influenced generations of musicians around the world, Human Element is staking out a new corner of the musical map on its self-titled debut. Comprised of keyboardist Scott Kinsey (Tribal Tech), electric bassist Matthew Garrison (Zawinul Syndicate, John ...
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246

Interview

Bassist Matthew Garrison Interviewed at AAJ...and More!

Source: All About Jazz
January 24, 2011

"Recalling Jaco and his legion of fretless followers, Garrison has remained the original, too busy forging ahead to look back at the pack... He has continued to experiment with and expand his composing and bass chops, as well as his quest to combine those elements with cutting-edge, computer-driven technology. Best of all, the pursuit has given him perspective." by Chris Jisi, Bass Player Magazine cover story, Oct 2010 issue