New Album: Carlos Mena, With The People
Bassist and composer MATT BOOTH is releasing SUN PRINTS, his first album of all original music. The music is freewheeling and varied but stays true to the contemporary jazz tradition. Rather than create an album that focused on his bass playing, Booth wanted the recording to showcase his compositions and a unified ensemble sound.
Booth has lived in New Orleans and brought on board several top musicians from the area. Trumpeter STEVE LANDS has performed with many jazz and pop bands, including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Swiss pianist and composer Florian Favre, PJ Morton, Maroon 5, and in big bands with the Marsalis family. OSCAR ROSSIGNOLI, on piano and keyboard, has collaborated on a wide range of projects with artists such as John Boutté, Jason Marsalis, Joe Dyson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Alexey Marti, among many others. Drummer PETER VARNADO, a native of New Orleans, has performed with some of the biggest names in the industry as well as local legends, like Ellis Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, and The Jordan Family. Saxophonist SAM TAYLOR, now a resident of Chicago continuing his music studies at DePaul University, has performed with jazz artists such as Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis, and Roland Guerin. Special note should be made of co-producer BRIAN SEEGER – this is the third project he has worked on of Booth’s, and his efforts both in the studio and in post-production are invaluable.
Booth’s taste in music was formed by his father’s extensive music collection of jazz and rock records from the 1950s through the 1980s. He began playing electric bass in middle school but was inspired to play upright bass after hearing Charlie Haden’s bass solos on Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction. He went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where he lived for 10 years, earning a living teaching and playing. Friends and teachers encouraged him to move to New Orleans to further his music career.
A ubiquitous performer on the New Orleans jazz scene, Booth found a great deal of success both as a leader and sideman. He has released numerous albums as a co-leader of several groups, including the piano trio Extended (also featuring Rossignoli), his quartet Palindromes, and the guitar trio Some Antics. He has also been a sideman on several albums for a diverse group of other artists.
His mastery of the bass has led to performances at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, South by Southwest, and the Burlington Jazz Festival. He has been twice nominated by Offbeat Magazine for the Best Bass Player award and performs nationally as a member of the band led by celebrated R&B organist/pianist John “Papa” Gros. After living in New Orleans for nearly a decade, Booth wanted a change of pace and moved to Durham, NC in 2023, although he still has strong ties to New Orleans.
After working for many years in trio and quartet settings, Booth wanted to enlarge his musical vision by writing for two horns. All the songs on SUN PRINTS were either composed or completed in the initial phases of the pandemic shutdown of 2020. The free time offered by the work stoppage provided Booth the ability to structure and arrange these songs in a more nuanced way than on previous recordings. His compositions are texturally rich and dynamic, occasionally crossing over to the avant-garde but driven by melody and propulsive grooves. Booth plays both upright and electric bass on the album.
Booth plays electric bass on “In Tongues,” the opening track. A funky number that gets its forward motion from the bassline’s hypnotic repetition, the tune constantly surprises with its unconstrained improvisations. “For Your Consideration” is a swinging jazz waltz Booth wrote with Wayne Shorter in mind.
“Ice Bear” is another groove-oriented piece featuring piano, trumpet and sax solos. “Otero Canyon” is a soulful ballad featuring Taylor’s melodic tenor sax. “Time to Spare” is the most through-composed piece on the album. The upbeat, toe-tapping tune features a particularly exciting drum solo on the outro.
Rossignoli’s piano shines on “Old News,” a swinging, post-bop 16-bar tune featuring one of the two bass solos on the album. Booth takes the temperature down a bit on “Interlude,” a moody composition further enhanced by a pedal steel overdub by Brian Seeger.
Booth composed “Optimal Chunks” in the spirit of ‘70s fusion music a la Miles Davis. It was written in three sections, each featuring a different soloist. “You Came Along” was inspired by the rock group Radiohead, one of many influences on Booth’s music that exists outside of the jazz umbrella.
“Distancing” is a pretty ballad that features the only other bass solo on the album. Booth closes out the album with “Happenstance,” an avant-garde number that utilizes the 12-tone compositional method. The tune ends with an insistent piano figure, much like putting an exclamation at the end of a sentence.
The musicians on SUN PRINTS are more than up to the task of playing Booth’s inventive and dynamic compositions. Although the music is complex, Booth’s melodic sense makes it accessible for the average listener. The album unfolds in a way that keeps the audience guessing, and the detailed production will reward multiple listens. SUN PRINTS is a superb representation of Matt Booth’s playing and compositional skills and is deserving of a wider audience.
Visit online at Mattboothmusic.com
