MATT JORGENSEN: BACK OUT WEST
EARSHOT JAZZ, May 2002

By Peter Monaghan

After 10 successful years in New York, Shoreline Community College-trained drummer Matt Jorgensen is moving back to Seattle. He said farewell to New York residence on April 25 with a performance at the Kavehaz club of his band, 451, featuring Justin Flynn (saxophone), Gary Versace (Fender Rhodes), Tom Pietrycha (bass), and of course Matt Jorgensen (drums).

Peter Monahgan interviewed Matt Jorgensen just a couple of days after that event.

Earshot: A lot of Seattle's best head for New York - how come you're reversing the flow?

MJ: I've been in New York now for almost 10 years. I have always known that I was going to move back at some point, I've always been really connected to Seattle and it's jazz scene. I moved to New York when I was 19, now I'm 29, married, and thinking about the next phase of my life. New York was great for me in my twenties, fast-paced, exciting; I traveled across the states and to Europe and played some great music, but now my priorities have changed. I've experienced living as a 'New York Jazz Musician' and now I want to focus more on my group, Matt Jorgensen +451, and maintain a calmer and more creative lifestyle. 451 hasn't really worked that much in New York, other than a few times a year. In fact, I really don't work much in New York anymore. Most of my work is on the road. That is what most New York musicians face, if you want to make enough money to live you are always on the road. Therefore, it really doesn't matter where I live. I just decided now is a good time to move.

Plus, I'm a huge baseball fan and I've been on tour during the last two American League Championship Series and took the Mariners loss very hard. Usually the other guys in the band are Yankees fans. I could never be a Yankee fan, so now as I move back, hopefully we can win one.

Earshot: Judging by your output with 451, New York was good to you. How do you see your experience there, overall?

MJ: New York has definitively been great. It really is a place to learn and get better. You are bombarded with influences all the time and there are a million musicians to share ideas with. I've been fortunate to have played with some great musicians. When I was at The New School, I did some gigs with [legendary bassist] Reggie Workman. He was a big influence in really helping me find my voice as a drummer and musician. He taught me how to direct a band, and to really have my music connect with the audience on an emotional level.

Another big influence for me was drummer Carl Allen. I met him after a few years in New York and I eventually worked for him as a tour manager for his groups. At that point I had put together small tours for my own bands, around the Northwest and down the West Coast and also around the Northeast. Working for him gave me a chance to work with some of the larger 'name' jazz venues and festivals, and also gave me a lot of insight on the business of jazz, all of which they don't teach you at music school.

I was also in a swing band called The Delegates. We toured for two years almost constantly and received some modest attention. It was different for me to be in a scene other than the usual jazz circuit. We played some of the nicest and grittiest clubs ever. It was probably the highest profile thing I've done to date, we did some TV shows, sold a number of CDs, and had a song in the movie Rollerball. It was a fun experience, but after a while I knew I had to move onto something else. A person can only spend so much time in a van.

Earshot: What will be the future of 451?

MJ: 451 will now be working more than ever. The band is Mark Taylor and Rob Davis on saxophone, Marc Seales on fender rhodes, and Phil Sparks on bass, all Seattle guys.

When I was thinking about doing my first CD as a leader, I really wanted to feel completely comfortable in the entire process. I've been playing with Rob Davis since I was 17, and met Mark Taylor through
Rob a year later. I don't have to tell those guys anything, they know what I'm thinking. The style of music we do blends everything I've listened to in my life -- everything from rock to jazz -- and I really think this unit of guys is the strongest I've ever worked with in any situation. Everyone is so aware of everyone else, most times I don't even have to explain what I'm looking for musically, it just happens.

451 is doing a handful of gigs in the Northwest this summer and I'm working on a three-week tour for October.

Earshot: What plans do you have for your Seattle return? Will you, for example, continue to work in New York?

MJ: I think I will just keep doing what I've been doing. I don't really have many commitments past this summer, so I'm moving with a clean slate and that is really refreshing.

I'm just looking forward to playing and reconnecting with all my friends in Seattle and continue to tour with my own group. I'll return to New York whenever there are gigs, but I don't have a master-plan or anything.

Earshot: Tell us about your upcoming new release on Origin Records.

MJ: The new recording is called "Quiet Silence." I spent last summer in Seattle trying to escape the extreme heat of New York and 451 did a lot of gigs, so in August, when we went into Ironwood Studios to record the music, it was really a easy process. We had been playing all summer so most of the tunes were recorded on the first or second takes. Plus, I was able to try a few things in the studio enviornment that you might not hear on a 'traditional' jazz recordings, like doubling melody parts, adding effects to the instruments in certain parts, and adding percussion tracks on certain tunes.

The weird thing is, this recording has taken a lot longer from beginning-to-end than I usually take in making records. After we recorded the basic tracks, my plan was to mix and master the CD in November, giving myself some time to listen to what we had recorded on tape before I mixed the final version. I flew back to New York on the morning of September 11th and happened to be on a flight with live television, so I watched everything unfold while I was 38,000 feet over Chicago.

Music wasn't my first priority for a while. All the clubs shut down and life was about making sure my friends and family were okay. 451 did a show in New York on September 28th at Kavehaz, that was pretty much the first day people started going out to hear music again.

I didn't get back to work on the CD until March. It was a strange 9 months or so but I really feel the new CD is the best work I've done to date.

Earshot: What other projects, plans, and recordings do you have going?

MJ: In January I co-produced and played on Mark Taylor's new CD, "After Hours." The rhythm section for that CD was "RadioAction," which is Whitney Ashe on piano, Gary Wang on bass, and myself. All three of us live within 3 blocks of each other in Brooklyn, so we always get together and play when we are all in town at the same time. We did a CD for Origin Records in 1998 called "HI-FI" and have done a couple tours as a band. We will be doing a mini-tour of the Northwest with Mark in July.

I've also been involved with Origin Records almost since its inception. The label keeps expanding so I'm going to continue to promote the artists on the label and push the Northwest jazz scene.

Earshot: Any words of advice for the young Seattleite about to try to make it in New York jazz? I understand you made a decision to play all the time, not to depend on a day job when you went out to New York - how does it work to go at it, in that way? (I hear you also used to lug your drums around the subway?!)

MJ: When I moved to New York I was going to The New School, so that gave me some structure for the first 2 years here. School was a great way to meet people as well.

If you are thinking of coming out to New York, the best thing you can do is just start meeting people when they come through Seattle, just say hello and introduce yourself, then reconnect with them once you are in New York.

Also, know what you want to accomplish ahead of time, have a vision, a direction. New York is a great place to learn, but it is not going to show you the way. I've always led my own groups, so that was a way for me to get my name out. Book your own gigs, hire other musicians, promote yourself. There are a million musicians here so you have to stay active and keep the momentum going.

I have had to work various day jobs from time-to-time, every musician has. For the last few years I've designed web pages for other musicians so it is still another creative outlet for me and it is something that I enjoy. It also lets me pick the work that I want to do, so that I can play gigs that will fill my soul and not necessarily the bank account.