Guitarist and composer Matt Greenwood is carving out a new sound in Toronto’s jazz scene with his debut album Atlas.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Greenwood cut his teeth performing with some of the country’s most acclaimed musicians such as Oliver Mtukudzi and Forward Kwenda. He moved to Toronto to study jazz at Humber College — he also appeared on JAZZ.FM91’s Jazzology program in 2022 — and is now looking to make a name in Canada’s jazz scene.
The music of Atlas combines jazz improvisation with modern production aesthetics and a compositional approach that borders on contemporary classical music.
Watch a live performance of Dehyah below:
The album exclusively features Greenwood’s original compositions. He’s backed by multiple combinations of musicians, including bassist Mike Downes, drummer Mark Kelso and a long list of up-and-coming Canadian musicians: Joshua Stanberry, Dhaivat Jani, Matt McCormack, Matt Dicker, Peter Holbrook, James Griffith and Steve Carson.
Most of the music on Atlas was recorded live off the floor, but many of the tracks are also augmented by a soundscape of overdubbed atmospheric guitar textures. The main tracking sessions were engineered by Matthew Manifould, and the album was mixed by Greenwood himself and mastered by Reuben Ghose.
Here’s the track listing:
- Constellations
- Dehyah
- Atlas
- Wild Angels
- From Sunshine
- Campfire Ghosts
- What’s Left of the World
- The First Mourning
- Redemption
- Commitment
Matt Greenwood’s Atlas is out Jan. 20, 2023.
