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Matt Gold

Matt Gold is a guitarist and composer based in Chicago, IL. His work pulls from diverse traditions of electric and acoustic music. Matt has given his guitar a good strum or two in venues across North America, Europe, and Asia, and has written music for films as well. His work has been praised for being “accessible, yet healthily unconstrained by genre and sure of its own identity” (UK Vibe) and for "combining the virtuosity and precision of a string quartet with the playfulness of small-group jazz" (Chicago Reader). In May 2020 Gold released his first solo record, Imagined Sky (Whirlwind Recordings), displaying his penchant for concise melody and a nuanced, exploratory palette of abstracted Americana. He has released four albums as the instrumental duo Sun Speak (with drummer Nate Friedman) and one with the singer/songwriter duo Storm Jameson (with vocalist/guitarist Jim Tashjian). As a guitarist and collaborator, Matt performs and records with artists including Makaya McCraven, Greg Ward, Sara Serpa, Hood Smoke, and Jamila Woods. He co-curates the Flood Music concert series and record label.


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25
Album Review

Maddie Vogler: While We Have Time

Read "While We Have Time" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Regardless of one's opinion of the music (from this vantage point, quite favorable), it is always a pleasure to welcome a jazz group led by a woman whose talents reach beyond voice or piano. Maddie Vogler, who presides over an admirable sextet on While We Have Time (and wrote all the music therein), plays alto saxophone, and does so about as well as any of her peers, male or female. When she is not gigging or recording, ...

5
Album Review

Maddie Vogler: While We Have Time

Read "While We Have Time" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


In the introduction to alto saxophonist Maddie Vogler's debut recording, While We Have Time, are two striking images. The first is the cover shot, a pair of venerable unmatched hands, depicting those of the artist's immigrant grandmothers, beautifully and simply adorned. The second image is the inside photo of a vibrant young woman, an alto saxophone cradled in her hands. Maddie Vogler. Unusually for a debut, it is a set of all originals, but Vogler is up to ...

4
Album Review

Bonzo Squad: Pachyderm

Read "Pachyderm" reviewed by Kyle Simpler


The Chicago-based quartet Bonzo Squad describes their music as “comfort in chaos." While this description might give an impression of free-form experimentation, it is not the case. The chaos aspect of their sound comes from a unique mixture of structure and improvisation, and for these guys, the comfort definitely outweighs the chaos. With Pachyderm, the group offers a perfect example of this description put into practice. Comfort implies an association with a memory, as is the case with ...

1
Album Review

Makaya McCraven: Deciphering the Message

Read "Deciphering the Message" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il debutto in casa Blue Note di Makaya McCraven è un omaggio alla storia musicale dell'etichetta, espresso ovviamente in prospettiva personale. Come ha fatto nei suoi dischi recenti—e in particolare nell'omaggio a Gil Scott-Heron (We're New Again, XL Recordings 2020)-il batterista e produttore di Chicago usa creativamente la tecnologia sperimentata dai DJ e produttori di hip-hop e club culture, in prospettiva nuova. Il classico repertorio Blue Note degli anni cinquanta e sessanta suscita l'attenzione delle subculture giovanili ...

12
Album Review

Daniel Thatcher: Waterwheel

Read "Waterwheel" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The two electric guitars, bass and drums ensembles played a big part in shaping popular music. The early 1960s saw the Beatles walk this road. The Rolling Stones rolled that way, too. And prior to that British Invasion, we had the “instrumental rock sound” of groups like The Chantays in 1964 with “Pipeline," The Surfaris, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, and The Ventures, all groups that fit into the surf rock genre. From there we can go back to Link ...

10
Interview

Matt Gold: A Guitarist in Songwriter's Disguise

Read "Matt Gold: A Guitarist in Songwriter's Disguise" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Combining improvisational concepts with Americana aesthetics is one thing, but enveloping this blend in a songwriter approach is another story entirely. The first concept is common practice these days, the second however represents the unique character which the up and coming jny: Chicago-based guitarist Matt Gold has to offer on his compelling debut effort, Imagined Sky (Whirlwind Recordings, 2020). Midwestern soundscapes meet art rock sensibilities featuring twangy guitar lines and a light acoustic touch on an album that doesn't shy ...

7
Album Review

Tony Barba: Blood Moon

Read "Blood Moon" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


Madison-based saxophonist Tony Barba is a sonic chameleon, able to wrap catchy melodic themes around a variety of different genres. His ear for melodies is on full display on his newest outing for the Midwestern label Shifting Paradigm Records. In interplay with Chicagoan guitarist Matt Gold and the Madison-based rhythm section of John Christensen on bass and Devin Drobka on drums, Blood Moon sees Barba drawing from reggae as much as from pop and country, together interpreted with jazzy sensibilities ...

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"There’s an alluring kinetic energy to this recording, whether it be Gold’s electric guitar power-playing, his acoustic guitar and its whispered textures, the folk-tinged vocals blending perfectly with the abstracted Americana, or the bluesier elements that are a welcome delight."  - ★★★★ UK Vibe 

“…a showcase for Matt Gold - one of most exhilarating guitar solos of recent memory, in any genre.” - Pitchfork

"This Chicago-based guitar trio have an engaging sound and wield their own succinct brand of distorted Americana."  - Jazzwise Magazine 

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Pachyderm

Bent River Records
2023

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While We Have Time

Origin Records
2023

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In These Times

International Anthem Recording Company
2022

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Desafío Candente

Woolgathering Records
2021

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Waterwheel

Shifting Paradigm Records
2021

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Deciphering the...

Blue Note Records
2021

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Ropa Vieja

From: While We Have Time
By Matt Gold

Simone

From: Blueprints Figure Two: New...
By Matt Gold

Videos

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