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Matthew Sheens

Born in Bowral, Australia, and raised in Sydney, Melbourne, Woolongong and Adelaide, Matthew became interested in jazz performance and composition towards the end of high school and in 2003 (11th grade) received the Jack De Vos Scholarship for single studies at the Elder Conservatorium. In 2004 Matthew toured with his quartet across the USA performing his original music.

Upon Graduating at the University of Adelaide in 2008 with first class honors, he had received the Most Outstanding Pianist award in his 2nd year, Most Outstanding Undergraduate in 3rd year, Most Outstanding Honors Graduate in final year and was the only music student (from all disciplines in the Elder Conservatorium) to be awarded the Adelaide University Medal for Academic Excellence (humanities category).

In 2009 Matthew became the first Australian to win a Downbeat Magazine Student Award (best soloist category), and received two grants (Helpmann Academy and Arts SA) to study in New York City with 5 renowned Jazz pianists. Matthew received a scholarship to pursue his Masters in Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, studying with Fred Hersch and Jason Moran. In the same year Matthew received prestigious scholarships, including the Dame Ruby Litchfield Scholarship (South Australian Youth Arts Board) and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant (Victoria) to assist his pursuit of music in the USA.

Matthew has also been awarded grants from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Southern Jazz Club (SA), and the Carpe Diem Trust (SA). Matthew has performed with many musical luminaries including Bob Mintzer, Paul Bollenback, Bob Moses, Cecil McBee, Jim Pugh, John Hoffman, Tom Patitucci and recorded with Grammy award-winner Jerry Bergonzi in March 2011, and alto saxophonist Jon Gordon in June 2011. Matthew won a second Downbeat Award for Best Soloist in 2011. He has performed across Australia, USA, New Zealand, Japan, The Netherlands, at the Jazz Hoeilaart International Jazz Festival in Belgium, Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Europafest in Romania, and at the International Panama Jazz festival in Panama City. In 2011 Matthew moved to New York City where he is currently engaged in a number of projects as a pianist and composer.

Awards

Pi Kappa Lambda induction (Academic Music Society) 2011 Outstanding Graduate Soloist (2011), Best Undergraduate Soloist (2009). International Downbeat Magazine Student Awards Arts Practice Establishment grant from the Australia Council for the Arts, 2011 Professional Development Grant from Arts SA, 2011 Professional Development Grant from the ‘Australia Council for the Arts’, 2011 Nomination for South Australian Young Achiever of the Year, 2010, New England Conservatory Beneficiary Scholarship and Deans List, 2009, 2010, 2011 The Adelaide University Medal for Academic Excellence, Adelaide University, 2009 The Dame Ruby Litchfield Scholarship for South Australian Performing Artist, South Australian Youth Arts Board, 2009 The Carpe Diem Trust, South Australia, 2009 The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Victoria, Australia, 2009 2-year Merit Scholarship for Graduate Studies, New England Conservatory, MA 2009 Adelaide Hilton Award for Most Outstanding Honors Graduate, University of Adelaide, 2008 Adelaide City Council Award for Most Outstanding Undergraduate, University of Adelaide, 2007


Tags

6
Album Review

Kolotov Mocktails: Ivy Hall

Read "Ivy Hall" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Setting aside the issue of genres (jazz, folk, Americana, funk, R&B, country, whatever), the question becomes: on their debut album, Ivy Hall, does the Tennessee-based and curiously named quartet, Kolotov Mocktails, deliver the goods? And the answer has to be yes, they do. This leads to a second question: is what they are doing jazz? And here the answer is less obvious. Certainly, there are elements of jazz in the form of improvisation and rhythmic patterns, but they are sporadic ...

7
Album Review

John Lang: Now Ear This

Read "Now Ear This" reviewed by Jack Bowers


For what it is, bassist John Lang's fourth album, Now Ear This, is quite well done. For jazz fans, the dilemma lies there, precisely in what it is--a series of eleven rock/fusion themes, nine written by Lang, which would be right at home on a smooth jazz/easy listening radio station, for example, but whose jazz content would earn them no more than a tenuous place on any playlist beyond that. Tempos are more or less proximate, as is the steady ...

4
Album Review

Ross McHenry: Nothing Remains Unchanged

Read "Nothing Remains Unchanged" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Electric bassist Ross McHenry has been a highly-regarded presence in the Australian jazz scene since the release of his 2013 debut record, Distant Oceans (First Word Records). His recognition outside of his home country has been limited, although that may change with his 2020 release, Nothing Remains Unchanged. Eschewing some of his larger-ensemble tendencies for a pared-down quartet concept, this album sees McHenry honing his melodic instincts and creating an infectious chemistry with some new colleagues. On his ...

3
Multiple Reviews

Clouds and Stormy Nights: A New Pair from QFTF

Read "Clouds and Stormy Nights: A New Pair from QFTF" reviewed by Geno Thackara


Germany's growing QFTF label remains ambitious as ever as 2016 draws to a close, showcasing two young off-the-beaten-path bandleaders with their own ideas of the directions modern jazz might take. With some fairly offbeat feels for melody, the pair manage to serve as two sides of the same semi-abstract coin. Matthew Sheens Cloud Appreciation Day QFTF 2016 It eases in with an almost stately air, then abruptly breaks into rhythmic careening like lightning ...

7
Album Review

Matthew Sheens: Untranslatable

Read "Untranslatable" reviewed by Ian Patterson


With his impressive debut Every Eight Seconds (Self Produced, 2012) garnering universally positive reviews, Australian-born, New York-based pianist Matthew Sheens returns with an even meatier, juicier follow-up. Every Eight Seconds introduced an original composer, one whose melodic and rhythmic ideas championed narrative over virtuosity. There's perhaps more of Sheens the Downbeat poll-winning pianist this time out but significantly Untranslatable ups the ante compositionally, with the Yanni Burton String Quartet leaving an indelible stamp on a third of the tracks.

4
Album Review

Matthew Sheens: Every Eight Seconds

Read "Every Eight Seconds" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


In 2009, pianist Matthew Sheens became the first Australian to win a Downbeat Magazine Student Award, but that's hardly the only honor that's been bestowed upon this gifted musician. Sheens has been racking up grants, scholarships and awards at a rapid pace, as he moved from the University of Adelaide, where he completed his undergraduate work in 2008, to the New England Conservatory of Music, to pursue a Masters in Jazz Performance, to New York City, where he has resided ...

4
Album Review

Matthew Sheens: Every Eight Seconds

Read "Every Eight Seconds" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Debut recordings can sometimes suffer from a little too much subservience to the jazz cannon, as musicians perhaps wish to stamp their jazz credentials from the get go, or as is the case with Australian-born, New York-based pianist Matthew Sheens' Every Eight Seconds they can announce a refreshingly personal voice. Sheen--a former student of pianists Fred Hersch and Jason Moran--exhibits a flair for melody and a broad vocabulary that leans towards the contemporary. There's also strong rhythmic heart, both in ...

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"Mattthew is an extremely talented musician with a great future in front of him. He has the sensitivity and confidence of expression to make a mark in the music world"

- Jerry Bergonzi

"Sheens is an outstanding pianist, stoked full of creative ideas and limitless technique....his innovative and luminous performance was totally captivating."

- John McBeath, Performance review, Adelaide Advertiser

ALBUM REVIEWS:

"Beauty, majesty, grace, vision, humor and fresh grooves abound on this new CD by young pianist/composer Matthew Sheens. All the players play with great sensitivity, beautiful tones, big spirit and muinto alegria!"

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Matthew teaches students from beginner to advanced and is avaliable for lessons in Manhattan, NYC. He is on the piano faculty at the 'Piano School of New York City', and'PlayOn! Studios', both located in Manhattan, and also teaches privately in his studio. Matthew has taught at the South Australian Yamaha School of Music, Pembroke College (Adelaide, SA), St Mary's College (Adelaide, SA), students at the Univerisity of Adelaide and has been teaching privately for 7 years. Matthew teaches Jazz theory, improvisation and composition, technique (drawing from French, Abby Whiteside and Alexander techniques) and has taught Classical, Pop and world music styles.

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Now Ear This

Self Produced
2021

buy

Ivy Hall

Self Produced
2021

buy

Nothing Remains...

First Word Records
2020

buy

Untranslatable

Abc Music
2014

buy

Every Eight Seconds

Self Produced
2013

buy

Cloud Appreciation Day

From: Cloud Appreciation Day
By Matthew Sheens

Videos

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