Matt Schofield

Matt Schofield - Siftin' Thru Ashes - 2005 - Nugene Records

British Blues Awards Guitarist of the Year 2010 & 2011: Mojo Magazine Blues Album of the Year 2011: British Blues Awards Album of the Year 2010

"In Schofield, the UK has produced the best blues guitarist from any country in decades." - LA Daily News, USA

"Top ten British Blues guitarists of all time." - Guitar And Bass

"British guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Matt Schofield is widely regarded as one of the most distinctive and innovative guitarists to have emerged on the world scene for several generations. He is rated in the top ten British blues guitarists of all time (Guitar & Bass Magazine) putting him in the company of such iconic names as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. In his relatively short solo career Schofield’s prowess as a blues guitarist has taken his band to twelve countries; seen him playing with iconic guitarists like Buddy Guy and Robben Ford; and brought him high praise in the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings as one of only two living British artists in recording history to gain a maximum four-star rating". © http://www.mattschofield.com/bio

Blues-rock and blues-jazz are two different worlds. Blues-jazz tends to appeal to Jimmy Witherspoon fans who also appreciate Richard "Groove" Holmes and Jack McDuff; blues-rock tends to appeal to Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan fans who also know a great Jimmy Page or Eddie Van Halen solo when they hear one. But there are times when blues-rock and blues-jazz come together; they have often come together for Robben Ford, and they come together with memorable results on Matt Schofield's Siftin' Thru Ashes. This 2005 release finds Schofield leading an organ trio -- Schofield on vocals and guitar, Jonny Henderson on organ, and Evan Jenkins on drums -- and that format helps bring out the jazz element. Organ trios, of course, were a crucial part of soul-jazz in the '50s and '60s; the organ trio was a format that served Holmes, McDuff, Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, and many others well. And it is a format that allows for a lot of improvisation on the instrumental "Djam." But instrumentals are the exception instead of the rule on Siftin' Thru Ashes; Schofield sings more often than not on this album, which offers a healthy balance of blues-rock muscle and blues-jazz sophistication. Schofield is a loud, gritty, sweaty, burning dynamo of an electric guitarist, but all that toughness doesn't erase his desire to include some jazz complexity in his recipe -- and that ability to balance blues-rock and blues-jazz considerations serves him well on original material as well as an inspired cover of the Box Tops' '60s hit "The Letter." Siftin' Thru Ashes doesn't take the jazz element quite as far as some albums by Robben Ford and Dave Specter -- Schofield doesn't include any Thelonious Monk or Charlie Parker tunes -- but even so, this CD is an enjoyable demonstration of what can happen when blues-rock and blues-jazz are united. © Alex Henderson © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved

Matt Schofield's first studio album contains eight original songs as well as terrific covers of some standards including the Boxtops' "The Letter". This is Grade A blues jazz from the heralded Mancunian guitarist and his trio and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out Matt Schofield's "Live From The Archive", "The Trio, Live" albums, Matt Schofield Trio's "Live at The Jazz Cafe!" and "Ear To The Ground" albums and Jan Akkerman Feat. Matt Schofield's "Live At De Bosuil Muziekcentrum, Weert, Holland" album on this blog. Buy Matt's "Anything But Time" album and support great jazz blues [All tracks @ 160 Kbps: File size = 62 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 All You Need - Matt Schofield 3:30
2 Siftin' Thru Ashes - Matt Schofield 4:21
3 Djam - Jonny Henderson / Evan Jenkins / Matt Schofield 5:59
4 Lights Are on, But Nobody's Home - Albert Collins 6:36
5 The Letter - Wayne Carson Thompson 5:09
6 Back at Square One - Matt Schofield 5:22
7 People Say - Ziggy Modeliste 7:07
8 How I Try - Matt Schofield 2:55
9 On My Way - Matt Schofield 4:33
10 Middle Ground - Matt Schofield 5:43
11 Hard Lines - Matt Schofield / J. Michael Walker 4:30

BAND

Matt Schofield - Guitar, Vocals
Jeff "The Funk" Walker - Bass on "Hard Lines"
Jonny Henderson - Hammond Organ, (B3 Bass Lines), Wurlitzer, Piano
Evan Jenkins - Drums

SHORT BIO

The leader of the Matt Schofield trio (obviously) and a well traveled and talented blues guitarist, Matt Schofield was born in Manchester, England on August 21, 1977. Spurred into the world of the blues guitar by legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, and Albert Collins, Schofield took his curiosity to London after graduating college, and started to jam with various musicians in the scene. Catching the ear of one Dana Gillespie -- after a successful stint as part of the Lee Sankey Group -- Schofield won a spot in that blues diva's London based band. From there, Schofield eschewed the quick road to fame, instead choosing to work as part of the house band at festivals all over Europe. Eventually, through this rather unglamorous gig, the trio that would bear his name eventually came together, and Schofield became a bona fide solo presence. His first album, a live affair entitled The Trio, Live, was released in 2004, and was a critical success. The unique vibe that Matt and his trio captured was due in part of their use of organ for bass lines rather than a bass guitar -- somewhat of a rarity in the more traditional electric blues rulebook. Comprised of Schofield, keyboardist Jonny Henderson and drummer Evan Jenkins, the trio went on to record a studio record, Siftin' Thru' the Ashes after releasing the second live collection Live At the Jazz Cafe -- both in 2005. In 2007, Schofield returned to the shelves with studio album number two, Ear To the Ground. © Chris True © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/matt-schofield-mn0000387505

MORE

Born in Manchester UK in 1977, Matt was immersed in the blues from a young age thanks to his Dad’s record collection. A professional guitarist from age 18 Schofield left it relatively late to start his own recording career, choosing first to learn his trade as a sideman, initially with bandleader and harp player Lee Sankey. He then spent four years with British Blues Diva and David Bowie prodigy Dana Gillespie, touring the UK, Europe and as far a field as India. Seven years into life as a pro, he formed his own band - a trio - with Hammond organist, Jonny Henderson and drummer, Evan Jenkins (now with BBC Jazz Award winner, Neil Cowley). The trio was unconventional in having no bass player, bass duties being handled on the Hammond organ, a format favoured over the years by American bluesmen such as Albert King and Jimmie Vaughan. The result was The Trio, Live, an eight-track taster of things to come. For what was a low budget, off-the-cuff and all-covers recording it elicited high praise along with airplay on both sides of the Atlantic and a BBC Radio 2 live session. With his two subsequent releases (05’s Siftin' Thru Ashes and 07’s Ear To The Ground) Schofield consolidated his sound, delivering a powerful mix of Blues and New Orleans funk unlike anything else on the block. It was hard to pigeon-hole a band that could mine a deep blues trench one minute, effortlessly pull off a Meters anthem the next and then just as successfully revitalise the sixties Box Tops song, The Letter. Fast forward to May, 2009 and Schofield’s third studio recording Heads, Tails & Aces. This time Schofield has a bass player and an album with a greater focus on blues. Gone are the interspersed instrumental funk tracks that characterised previous albums and led some commentators to label Schofield as much jazz, as blues. In their place is an entirely song-based album, with nine of the eleven tracks written or co-written by Schofield. The breadth of material on this album is impressive, spanning everything from the smouldering Malaco-like soul groove of War We Wage, to the eccentric back-beat driven Betting Man and the Jazz-tinged Nothing Left, the latter lulling the listener into relaxed mood before climaxing in a tension-drenched extended outro. Schofield's seamless playing has always embodied the great stylistic moments of American blues guitar, but the two cover versions on this latest album - interpretations of Freddie King's Woman Across The River and Elmore James' Stranger Blues - make any comparisons irrelevant. Underpinned by Jonny Henderson's constantly empathetic keyboards, Schofield stamps his own style on proceedings, slamming into solos that burn with an intensity rarely heard these days and even more rarely in combination with such a technically fluid and melodic approach. Matt has produced three highly acclaimed albums for Ian Siegal, 2005’s Meat & Potatoes, 2007’s Swagger and his November 2009 release, Broadside, which is MOJO magazine’s Blues Album of 09. © http://www.mattschofield.com/bio