Bluesinthenight.
Debut Recording (2004)
Joe Chindamo - Piano
Sam Anning - Bass
Ben Vanderwal - Drums
James Morrison - Trombone
Carl Mackey - Saxophones
1. There Will Never Be Another You
5. Theme From Schindler’s List
James Morrison’s Liner Notes
Perhaps the most difficult thing for a jazz musician is finding his or her own ‘voice’. One inevitably begins with inspiration from players that have gone before and absorbs influences from both jazz legends and colleagues alike.
The task that seems to differentiate the ‘good’ jazz practitioner from the ‘greats’ of jazz is whether this all leads to a unique sound, that while acknowledging tradition, is a distinct creation of one’s own. If this happy event is to take place, it is usually not evident before many years of exploration and soul searching.
The first time I heard Mat Jodrell play as a very young man, I was struck by two things; his seemingly effortless and unconstrained crossing between styles and his stark originality. Here was a young player that could authentically re-create the ethos of early traditional jazz while still sounding fresh, in the next breath he would tip his hat to post-modern cool and was completely at home with fusion of any sort. Far from making for a clever but directionless wanderer, this all somehow had a cohesion that I can only attribute to Mat’s innate musicality and passion for all that he plays.
The collection of songs you are holding would be impossible to categorise under normal circumstances, the material is diverse and the treatments are likewise. I’m happy to say that any music made by this young trumpeter is far from a ‘normal’ circumstance - perhaps the category in which one can place this recording is simply...Jodrell.
James Morrison, February 2006