Matt Schofield
(born 21 August 1977) [1] is a UK blues guitarist and singer whose music blends blues with rock and funky jazz rhythms. His band, The Matt Schofield Trio, play their own material, which is a blend of blues, funk and jazz, along with covers of blues classics such as Albert Collins' "Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home".
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MATT SCHOFIELD TICKETS
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Influences
Schofield's
guitar playing is often likened to
Robben Ford in reference to his melodic and fluid style, and jazzy lines. However, Schofield was also majorly influenced by
B. B. King,
Freddie King,
Albert King,
Muddy Waters,
Eric Clapton,
Albert Collins,
Jimi Hendrix,
Billy Gibbons,
Stevie Ray Vaughan and
Jimmie Vaughan. The influence of funk bands such as
The Meters and
Soulive can also be heard in his music.
Career
Recordings
Schofield has two
studio albums and two
live albums. The first of the live discs,
The Trio, Live
was
recorded at the Bishops Blues club at The Half Moon,
Bishops Stortford in 2004 and, funded and released by Richard Pavitt on his Nugene
record label, gave the band their first breakthrough. The first studio album,
Siftin' Thru Ashes
was released in 2005. This album showcases not only Schofield as a virtuoso contemporary blues player, but also as a very competent songwriter, writing or co-writing eight out of eleven of the tracks on this album. AllMusic.com calls Schofield's approach "an enjoyable demonstration of what can happen when blues-rock and blues-jazz are united". The second live album,
Live At The Jazz Cafe!
was recorded at the
London Jazz Cafe in April 2005, and was made available as a web only release. Schofield is one of only two living British artists to be given a four star (excellent) rating in the
Penguin Book of Blues Recordings
.
The release of
The Trio, Live
prompted Schofield to be featured in a
Guitarist
magazine article listing the nine notable up and coming blues guitarists, Schofield being the only non-
American. Of the album they said 'britblues meets jazz via N'Orleans - all played with the kind of sizzling guitar that just doesn't often surface in Fairford, Gloucestershire'. In 2007
Guitar & Bass Magazine
picked Schofield as one of the "Top 10 British Blues Guitarists of All Time".
Band
Schofield performs with an
organ trio (
guitar,
organ, and
drums), which is an unusual format for blues bands. Organ trios are mostly associated with the 1950s and 1960s
U.S. jazz groups led by
organists such as
Jimmy Smith. Blues bands more commonly use trios of guitar, bass and drums, quartets (guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums) or quintets (guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums). In Schofield's organ trio, organist
Jonny Henderson plays a
Hammond organ, performing basslines using his left hand, and playing chords and lead lines with his right hand. The trio's drummer is Evan Jenkins. Jeff Walker played bass on the final track of
Siftin' Thru' Ashes
. In 2009, as of the recording of 'Heads, Tails & Aces', The Matt Schofiled Trio became The Matt Schofield Band, a four-piece, featuring Jeff 'The Funk' Walker on bass, and also replacing Evan Jenkins with Alain Baudry.
Discography
- 2004: The Trio, Live
(NUG601)
Track list:
Uncle Junior
Everyday I Have The Blues
Bloody Murder
Treat Me Lowdown
Cissy Strut
Travellin' South
Sittin' On Top Of The World
Hippology
- 2005: Live at the Jazz Café
(NUG503)
Track list:
All You Need
Uncle Junior
Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home
Travellin' South
Cissy Strut
On My Way
It's Your Thing
- 2005: Siftin' Thru' Ashes
(NUG501)
Track list:
All You Need
Siftin' Thru Ashes
Djam
Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home
The Letter
Back At Square One
People Say
How I Try
On My Way
Middle Ground
Hard Lines
Track list:
Pack it Up
Troublemaker
Ear to the Ground
Heart Don't Need a Compass
Once in a While
Room at the Back
Someone
Searchin'
Move Along
Cookie Jar
When it all Comes Down
- 2009: Heads, Tails & Aces
What I Wanna Hear
Live Wire
War We Wage
Betting Man
Lay It Down
Can't Put You Down
Woman Across the River
Nothing Left
I Told Ya
Stranger Blues
Not Raining Now
- Other albums featuring Matt Schofield
- *Swagger
- Ian Siegal - produced by Schofield
- *Meat And Potatoes
- Ian Siegal - co-produced by Schofield
- *My Day Is Just Beginning
- The Lee Sankey Group
- *She's Not Alone
- The Lee Sankey Group
- *Two Timing Lover Boy
- Dino Baptiste
- *A Different Picture
- Earl Green
- *Driving Savage Groove
- Harmonica Posse
- *Staying Power
- Dana Gillespie
- *Experienced
- Dana Gillespie
- *Songs Of Love
- Dana Gillespie
- *Back To Blues
- Dana Gillespie
References
- Matt Schofield Biography (Nugene Records website)