Matthew Halsall is from Manchester and plays trumpet like nothing we’ve heard in a while. He took the time to answer some questions and to share his passion for jazz.

So you’ve grown up in Manchester, and been involved in the Jazz scene there from a very young age, what’s been your favorite / stand out moment from the past few years?

I’ve had so many amazing experiences living in Manchester. I’ve worked with members of The Cinematic Orchestra such as drummer Luke Flowers, guitarist Stuart McCallum, and pianists John Ellis and Steve Brown. I’ve also worked with some great bass players such Jon Thorne from Lamb and Sneaky from Fingathing and of course all the people involved in Gondwana Records.

But if I had to choose one of my favorite moments of the past few years of living in Manchester it would have to be the recording of my latest album ‘Colour Yes’. This was a truly magical experience. I hadn’t shown the band any of my new compositions before the day of the recording session and they played it exactly how I imagined it to sound. It was such an amazing feeling to hear all my ideas finally coming to fruition.

What’s the Jazz scene like in Manchester at present, with clubs like ‘Matt & Phreds’ and ‘Band On The Wall’ in particular?

The Jazz scene is very healthy in Manchester and I’m always hearing great stuff by new musicians and bands.

Matt & Phreds is one of the only official jazz clubs in the North West of England and it’s very supportive of the local up and coming artists.

Band On The Wall  re-opened around August/September 2009 kitted out with a new sound system and great line up’s both international and local e.g. The Five Corners Quintet, Jose James, Portico Quartet, Nostalgia 77, Erik Truffaz, Nils Petter Molvaer, Mr Scruff, Jazzanova, The Soul Jazz Orchestra, Introducing Play DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing Live, Craig Charles Funk ‘N’ Soul Night, Marlena Shaw and many more…

I’ve heard you’ve set up your own night called ‘Step Up’ can you tell us a little bit about that, what could one expect to hear?

Yeah I’m involved in the running of ‘Step Up’ with a couple of other people. It’s a late night event held at Band On The Wall. The night consists of a live performances by a local or international artists/bands plus dj’s. Our next event is on Saturday 10th April and features The Soul Jazz Orchestra live which I’m looking forward too and then I’m playing live on Saturday 15th May.

So your a Dj as well as being a trumpeter, composer, arranger and producer. What does a typical Matthew Halsall Dj set compose of?

I love listening to all types of music including: Jazz, Funk, Soul, Reggae, Dub, Hip Hop, Breakbeat, House and Afro Beat.

You list some artists such as Moodymann, Johnny Osbourne and Mulatu Astatke as influences on your MySpace page, what are you currently listening to outside of Jazz?

I’ve recently been getting into lots of reggae and dub such as: Cedric Im Brooks, Tommy McCook, King Tubby, Yabby You, Augustus Pablo, Horace Andy and Johnny Osbourne. I also like a lot of jazzy hip hop and break beat stuff including: A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Digable Planets, Guru, Madlib, Quasimoto, Sound Providers, Black Sheep, DJ Cam, DJ Krush, Mr Scruff and Quantic. I’ve been listening to a bit of house and electonic music such as: Theo Parrish, Moodymann, Matthew Herbert, Floating Points, Flying Lotus, Harmonic 313 and Bibio and I’ve also been listening to lots soul and afro beat including: Curtis Mayfield, Lonnie Liston Smith, Roy Ayres, Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Mulatu Astatke, Antibalas, The Souljazz Orchestra and The Poets Of Rhythm.

….And Jazz wise who’s keeping your interest in the genre in 2010?

Well I’ve been listening to a lot of new jazz from around the world including: Timo Lassy and The Five Corners Quintet from Helsinki in Finland. Quasimode, Indigo Jam Unit, Soil & Pimp Sessions, Sleep Walker and Jazztronik from Japan. The Cinematic Orchestra, Nostalgia 77 and Matthew Herbert from the UK. Nicola Conte and all the Schema label stuff from Italy. St Germain and Erik Truffaz from France. Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. Skapel from Poland and lots of great stuff from the States including: Dwight Trible, Robert Glasper, Jose James, Carlos Nino and Build An Ark.

I’ve also been listening to a lot of old classic jazz records by artists such as: Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Leon Thomas, Dorothy Ashby, Lloyd Miller, McCoy Tyner, Yusef Lateef, Clifford Jordan, Gary Bartz, Art Blakey, Don Cherry, Dizzy Reece, Miles Davis, Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Chet Baker, Sam Cooke, Fats Waller, Nina Simone and lots more…

I see you’re a big fan of Alice & John Coltrane, even covering the timeless ‘A Love Supreme’ what does their music mean to you and what’s your favourite release by each of them?

Yes I love Alice & John Coltrane’s music. They’ve both really inspired me over the years. I love the way Alice uses harp, tambura, strings, percussion and vocal’s in her music, it’s so deep and spiritual and John plays with such freedom, honesty and emotion. What a beautiful couple.

My favourite Alice Coltrane album has got to be ‘Journey In Satchidananda’ and my favourite John Coltrane album is ‘A Love Supreme’ although I love many, many more albums by both artists.

Can you tell us a bit about the artwork on your ‘Sending My Love’ & ‘Colour Yes’, because there wonderful and also very unique?

We always spend a lot of time on the artwork. The photo’s are taken by a great photographer Imke Oppenkamp. The Sending My Love album cover photo was taken near the docks in Liverpool. I used to live in Liverpool and spent a lot of my time listening and composing music at this location. The Colour Yes album cover photo was taken at Formby beach again near Liverpool. This is one of the most beautiful beaches in England and I have so many happy memories of being at this beach. All the graphics/sleeve designs on Gondwana Records are created by my brother Daniel Halsall. He’s got real good eye for album covers.

Your first album was released in October 2008 and the second one in October 2009 does this mean you will have another album coming out in October 2010?

Yes hopefully my next album will be released around September/October 2010.

On the topic of album covers what’s your favourite LP sleeve?

Well there are so many great jazz album covers I like. I love the Impulse! sleeve designs from the 60’s and 70’s such as: Alice Coltrane’s ‘Journey In Satchidananda’ and Pharoah Sanders ‘Karma’. I’m also a big fan of Blue Note’s cover art. They’ve done so many great covers such as: Donald Byrd’s ‘A New Perspective’, Joe Henderson’s ‘Page One’ and Don Cherry’s ‘Symphony For Improvisers’.

What’s next for Matthew Halsall? I hear you may-be collaborating and furthering your sound by combining with some electronic artists & vocalists, is this true?

Well I’m always trying out lots of new ways of composing and arranging tunes. I’m currently working on a project with a beatboxer, a project with a big band and a quite loose/free meditative project with harp, tambura, percussion, sax, trumpet, double bass and drums. I’m also finishing off my next album for Gondwana Records.

Thanks for your time Matthew and I wish you all the best in the future. Have you any last words for us?

No problem. Thanks for your support!!

All the best,
Matthew : )

More Info:

http://www.riotsquadpublicity.com/riotmanagement/matthew_halsall.html
http://www.matthewhalsall.com/
http://www.myspace.com/matthewhalsall