Matthew Justin Garrison (born June 2, 1970) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bassist. Since 2011, he has run ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, New York, with Fortuna Sung. Described by ''the New York Times'' as "an electric bass virtuoso", he has toured with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

. His 2000 debut album, ''Matthew Garrison'', was described by ''Bass Player'' magazine as having "raised the bar" for electric bass players. In 2010, Garrison toured with R&B singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

during her Nothing but Love World Tour.

Early life and pre-solo career

The son of jazz bassist

Jimmy Garrison James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 – April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Career Garrison was born in Miami, Florida, and moved when he was 1 ...

and modern dancer Roberta Escamilla Garrison, Matthew spent much of his childhood in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. In 1988, he returned to the U.S. to live with his godfather,

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, B ...

, with whom he recorded. In 1989, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship and began to play professionally. In 1994, he moved to New York City where he regularly performed and recorded with

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...

Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009), was an American free jazz and Avant-garde jazz, avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Earl ...

Ravi Coltrane Ravi Coltrane (born August 6, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced music for pianist Luis Perdomo, guitarist David Gilmore, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi. Biography Ravi Coltrane is t ...

Gil Evans Orchestra Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in ...

Steve Coleman Steve Coleman (born September 20, 1956) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader and music theorist. In 2014, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Early life Steve Coleman was born and grew up in South Side, Chicago. He started playing ...

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as the founder of the rock band Living Colour. Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Ti ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

, The Saturday Night Live Band, John McLaughlin,

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, re ...

Pino Daniele Giuseppe "Pino" Daniele (19 March 1955 – 4 January 2015) was an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music. Biography Daniele wa ...

and

Wayne Krantz Wayne Krantz is an American guitarist and composer. He has performed and recorded with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Donald Fagen, Billy Cobham, Chris Potter, David Binney, and Carla Bley. Since the early 1990s, Krantz has focused primarily on hi ...

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* ''Matthew Garrison'' (Garrison Jazz, 2000)Matthew Garrison
allaboutjazz.com. Accessed April 10, 2023. * ''Shapeshifter'' (2004) * '' Improvision'' with

Alex Machacek Alex Machacek (born 1 July 1972, Tulln an der Donau, Austria) is an Austrian jazz fusion guitarist. Early years Machacek was born to a Czech family in Tulln, Austria. His family had moved to Austria in the 1960s as refugees. Since then, they h ...

Jeff Sipe Jeff Sipe (born January 31, 1959), also known as Apt. Q258, is an American drummer. He works mainly in rock and jazz fusion. He is a founding member of Aquarium Rescue Unit with Bruce Hampton. He was a member of Leftover Salmon and the Zambi ...

(Abstract Logix, 2007) * ''Shapeshifter Live'' (Garrison Jazz, 2011) * '' In Movement'' with

(ECM, 2016)

As sideman

, '' No One in Particular'' (

Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

, 2001) *

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...

, ''More to Say (Real Life Story: Nextgen)'' (E1, 2009) *

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American jazz fusion and funk drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. He began drumming ...

, ''Outbreak'' (ESC, 2002) *

, '' The Tao of Mad Phat'' (Novus, 1993) * Steve Coleman, ''Def Trance Beat'' (BMG Victor, 1995) *

, ''Boogie Boogie Man'' (RCA, 2010) * Philipp Gerschlauer &

David Fiuczynski David Fiuczynski (born March 5, 1964) is an American contemporary jazz guitarist, best known as the leader of the Screaming Headless Torsos and David Fiuczynski's KiF, and as a member of Hasidic New Wave. He has played on more than 95 albums as ...

, ''Mikrojazz!'' (RareNoise, 2017) *

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, f ...

, ''Trio! Live @ Artpark'' (Joyous Shout, 2008) *

, ''Future 2 Future Live'' (Columbia, 2002) *

Rita Marcotulli Rita Marcotulli (born 10 March 1959) is an Italian jazz pianist and composer. Career Born in Rome, Marcotulli is the daughter of a sound engineer who collaborated with Nino Rota and Ennio Morricone, among others. She started playing piano a ...

, ''Us and Them'' (Casa Del Jazz, 2008) * Rita Marcotulli, ''A Pino'' (Casa del Jazz, 2016) * John McLaughlin, ''

The Heart of Things ''The Heart of Things'' is an electric jazz fusion album released by guitarist John McLaughlin on Verve in 1997. Musicians include saxophonist Gary Thomas, keyboardist Jim Beard, bassist Matthew Garrison and drummer Dennis Chambers. All compos ...

'' (Verve, 1997) * John McLaughlin, '' The Heart of Things: Live in Paris'' (Verve, 2000) * John McLaughlin, '' Industrial Zen'' (Verve, 2006) *

Andy Milne Andy Milne (born January 30, 1969) is a Canadian jazz pianist, who records and performs both as a solo artist and as the leader of the ensemble Dapp Theory. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and raised in Kincardine and Toronto. One of ten sibl ...

, ''Forward to Get Back'' (D'Note, 1997) * Bob Moses, ''Time Stood Still'' (Gramavision, 1994) *

Meshell Ndegeocello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

, '' The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel'' (EmArcy, 2005) *

Wolfgang Reisinger Wolfgang Reisinger (16 July 1955 – 8 June 2022) was an Austrian jazz percussion player. Biography Reisinger started his education in music at Vienna Boys' Choir at the age of 5. Then, he studied piano at the Music and Arts University of th ...

, ''Refusion'' (EmArcy, 2006) * Revolution Void, ''Increase the Dosage'' (2005) *

Wallace Roney Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960 – March 31, 2020) was an American jazz ( hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He won one Grammy award and was nominated twice. Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from ...

, ''

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

'' (HighNote, 2004) *

World Saxophone Quartet The World Saxophone Quartet was an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music. The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...

, ''

Experience Experience refers to Consciousness, conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience i ...

'' (Justin Time, 2004) * ''Joe Zawinul, Mark Whitfield, Wallace Roney Quartet'' (Jazz a Go-go, 1995) *

, '' My People'' (Tone Center, 1996)

References

External links

Matthew Garrison
official website
ShapeShifter Lab
official business website {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrison, Matt 1970 births Living people American jazz bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Guitarists from New York City Jazz musicians from New York City 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Zawinul Syndicate members