Matthew Halsall is an English jazz musician, composer, producer and founder of the independent jazz label Gondwana Records, based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Biography

Halsall released his debut album ''Sending My Love'' in 2008, which was also the first release on his label Gondwana Records, followed by ''Colour Yes'' in 2009. Success came with his third album ''On the Go'' in 2011, awarded the

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

Worldwide Winners The Worldwide Awards, formerly known as the Worldwide Winner Awards, are an annual awards celebration curated by radio DJ Gilles Peterson and currently hosted by Worldwide FM and BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio 6 which celebrates up-and-coming musicians o ...

Award, and nominated as best jazz act in the 2011

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

. In 2012 the fourth album ''Fletcher Moss Park'' was released, and in 2014 he released his fifth album ''When the World Was One'' with the eight-member group ''Gondwana Orchestra''. This album was awarded iTunes Jazz Album of the Year 2014. In 2015 ''Into Forever'', and a remix of ''On the Go'' in 2016, were released. In 2019 he released ''Oneness''. 2020's ''Salute To The Sun'' marks the debut of his new band, with young musicians from Manchester. The album draws inspiration from themes of ecology, the environment and harmony with nature. Halsall released his latest album ''An Ever Changing View'' on 8 September 2023.

Gondwana Records

Gondwana Records is an independent

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

, UK. The label was founded in 2008 by Halsall to shine a light on the talent Halsall heard in the local clubs.

Music style

Halsall's music is inspired by the spiritual jazz of

Alice Coltrane Alice Lucille Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda () or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one o ...

Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, with

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

influences following in the footsteps of

The Cinematic Orchestra The Cinematic Orchestra is a British nu jazz and downtempo music group created in 1999 by Jason Swinscoe and later involving his music collaborator Dominic Smith. The group is signed to independent record label Ninja Tune. The Cinematic Orches ...

Discography

Albums

Solo

* ''Sending My Love'' (2008) * ''Colour Yes'' (2009) * ''On the Go'' (2011) * ''Fletcher Moss Park'' (2012) * ''Oneness'' (2019) * ''Salute To The Sun'' (2020) * ''An Ever Changing View'' (2023)

Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra

* ''When the World Was One'' (2014) * ''Into Forever'' (2015)

EPs

* ''The Temple Within'' (2022) * ''Changing Earth'' (2022)

Singles

* "Journey in Satchidananda" / "Blue Nile" (2015)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halsall, Matthew Living people Year of birth missing (living people) English jazz trumpeters