So the other night I was reading the albums reviews in Blues Revue and came across the following “Who needs a big band when an organ combo sounds just as good?” Well I didn’t have to read any further, I just went to Napster and found the album Matt Schofield’s Live from the Archive. Yesterday I listened to the album and loved it and today I went to emusic and downloaded and listened to Schofield’s 2009 release Heads, Tails & Aces and who knows tomorrow I may go back for more!!
Matt Schofield is a British blues guitarist. In fact Matt and his band gained three awards in the inaugural BRITISH BLUES AWARDS. Matt was GUITARIST OF THE YEAR and Heads, Tails & Aces was ALBUM OF THE YEAR and the organ player from the band one Jonny Henderson was KEYBOARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR. . In addition Guitar & Bass Magazine rates Matt in the top ten British blues guitarists of all time putting him in the company of guitarists like Eric Clapton and Peter Green! Here are some press quotes from Matt’s website:
“The UK’s most exciting blues guitar player.” GUITARIST
“In Schofield, the UK has produced the best blues guitarist from any country in decades.” – LA DAILY NEWS, USA
And from what I heard on the album I whole heartedly agree. According to Blues Revue the album was never meant to be an official release. But the recording was great and the band and Matt were hot that night, so it was released to let fans experience Matt’s live performance in the comfort of their home! I really do enjoy the keyboard work of Jonny Henderson and the drumming of Evan Jenkins (who has been replaced by BBC Jazz Award winner, Neil Cowley). But the star of the show is Matt and his great guitar playing. I particularly liked his cover of Albert Collins’ “Lights are on but Nobody’s Home” and the closing track which clocks in at almost twenty minutes in length, a cover of Alex Chilton’s “The Letter”
While some may consider Matt’s music to jazzy I for one don’t. Ever since John Mayall’s “Jazz Blues Fusion” I’ve felt jazz and blues belong together!! In closing his review in Blues Revue Hal Horowitz says (when referring to Matt’s cover of “The Letter”)
It alone is worth the price of admission to a live album that will have most listeners accessing their favorite travel site to book a ticket to wherever Matt Schofield is playing next.
June 5th – Sellersville Theater – Sellersville, Pa! Check out other stops on his US Tour which kicks off May 30th in Cleveland, Ohio here
Here’s a taste of Matt’s incredible playing!
