Mathew Halsall
@ the PizzaExpress Jazz Club
31 March 2010

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Biography

26 year old trumpeter, composer, arranger, DJ, producer and band leader.

Halsall picked up the trumpet at just 6 years old after being taken to a jazz gig by his parents. From the age of 14 Matt has toured the world playing in France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Australia and America.

Composer, trumpeter, producer, DJ and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall has always worn many hats. But at the heart of everything that he does Halsall is first and foremost an artist and a musician. A trumpeter whose unflashy, soulful playing radiates a thoughtful beauty and a composer and band-leader who has created his own rich sound world. A sound that draws on the heritage of British jazz, the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, as well as world music and electronica influences, and even modern art and architecture, to create something uniquely his own. A music that is rooted in Northern England but draws on global inspirations.

Released in November 2020, Matthew’s Halsall’s “Salute to the Sun” was the trumpeter’s first album since 2015’s “Into Forever” and marked the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester’s finest young musicians. The album drew its energy from the band’s weekly sessions and was inspired by Halsall’s love of nature. Lush and spiritual it received universal praise, but Halsall and his band were frustrated that they were unable to share their beautiful new sound live with an audience so in January 2021 they broadcast a very special concert film in aid of the charity Mind, reaching a global audience in the thousands.