Album: On the Go by Matthew Halsall (2011)
Genre: Jazz
Format: Album

Description: “Slow burn” is perhaps the best way to think of UK trumpeter Matthew Halsall’s sound, reminiscent at times of the late Tomasz Stańko, or Miles Davis in Sketches of Spain mode on “Song for Charlie”, from Halsall’s third release, On the Go. Harpist Rachael Gladwin, a major presence in Halsall’s other work, appears only on “Samantha” here, while Nat Birchall’s soprano saxophone enlivens “The End of Dukkha” and “The Journey Home”. Drummer Gaz Hughes brings a certain Elvin Jones energy on “The Move” and contributes a rousing drum solo as well. The 2016 double-LP reissue adds three bonus tracks, all ballads without saxophone, pure features for Halsall’s horn in a still, hovering quartet setting.

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2010s, Album

“Slow burn” is perhaps the best way to think of UK trumpeter Matthew Halsall’s sound, reminiscent at times of the late Tomasz Stańko, or Miles Davis in Sketches of Spain mode on “Song for Charlie”, from Halsall’s third release, On the Go. Harpist Rachael Gladwin, a major presence in Halsall’s other work, appears only on “Samantha” here, while Nat Birchall’s soprano saxophone enlivens “The End of Dukkha” and “The Journey Home”. Drummer Gaz Hughes brings a certain Elvin Jones energy on “The Move” and contributes a rousing drum solo as well. The 2016 double-LP reissue adds three bonus tracks, all ballads without saxophone, pure features for Halsall’s horn in a still, hovering quartet setting.

Album: Sending My Love by Matthew Halsall (2008)
Genre: Jazz
Record Label: Gondwana Records
Format: Album

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2000s, Album, Gondwana Records


Album: Colour Yes by Matthew Halsall (2009)
Genre: Jazz
Record Label: Gondwana Records
Format: Album

Description: Matthew Halsall, UK trumpeter and founder of Gondwana Records, took an opportunity to reissue his earliest recordings from 2009, Sending My Love and Colour Yes, finally achieving the mixing and mastering quality and cover art concept he’d hoped for. The two albums were thus reborn, in double-LP special editions. Colour Yes has certain echoes of My Favorite Things-era John Coltrane in the lilting jazz waltzes of “I’ve Found Joy” and the title track. The mood ranges from the exuberant swing of “Mudita” to the dark-as-night ballad “I’ve Been Here Before”, featuring chordal accompaniment from harpist Rachael Gladwin. The reissue adds the bonus tracks “It’s What We Do”, with Gladwin and bassist Gavin Barras’ gorgeous duo intro, and “Ai”, a sparse ballad showcase for the leader’s lyrical horn, Nat Birchall’s tenor saxophone and Adam Fairhall’s piano. Some of these players will be familiar to fans of Halsall’s Gondwana Orchestra, which formed in subsequent years. The governing approach is stark and meditative with harmonies that hover, giving soloists room for melodic invention.

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2000s, Album, Gondwana Records

Matthew Halsall, UK trumpeter and founder of Gondwana Records, took an opportunity to reissue his earliest recordings from 2009, Sending My Love and Colour Yes, finally achieving the mixing and mastering quality and cover art concept he’d hoped for. The two albums were thus reborn, in double-LP special editions. Colour Yes has certain echoes of My Favorite Things-era John Coltrane in the lilting jazz waltzes of “I’ve Found Joy” and the title track. The mood ranges from the exuberant swing of “Mudita” to the dark-as-night ballad “I’ve Been Here Before”, featuring chordal accompaniment from harpist Rachael Gladwin. The reissue adds the bonus tracks “It’s What We Do”, with Gladwin and bassist Gavin Barras’ gorgeous duo intro, and “Ai”, a sparse ballad showcase for the leader’s lyrical horn, Nat Birchall’s tenor saxophone and Adam Fairhall’s piano. Some of these players will be familiar to fans of Halsall’s Gondwana Orchestra, which formed in subsequent years. The governing approach is stark and meditative with harmonies that hover, giving soloists room for melodic invention.

Album: Fletcher Moss Park by Matthew Halsall (2012)
Genre: Jazz
Record Label: Gondwana Records
Format: Album

Description: The music of UK trumpeter Matthew Halsall is as intriguing as it is even-keeled, and Fletcher Moss Park, his fourth album, is broadly representative. At a digestible 40 minutes, the set relies heavily on the ethereal harp of Rachael Gladwin, which puts one in mind of Alice Coltrane’s trance-like jazz of earlier decades. Adam Fairhall’s stark piano voicings, and the harmonised lines of Halsall and saxophonist Nat Birchall, recall the language of McCoy Tyner, though the music’s temperature is cooler as it ebbs and flows. In its more restrained way, it predicted the kind of sound Kamasi Washington would start documenting a few years later. Elegant strings appear (and Halsall himself does not) on “Sailing Out to Sea” and “Wee Lan (Little Orchid)”, while Lisa Mallett’s flute brings another new flavour on “The Sun in September” and drummer Luke Flowers stirs things up rhythmically on the closing “Finding My Way”.

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2010s, Album, Gondwana Records

Additional Context: Available on Discogs marketplace

The music of UK trumpeter Matthew Halsall is as intriguing as it is even-keeled, and Fletcher Moss Park, his fourth album, is broadly representative. At a digestible 40 minutes, the set relies heavily on the ethereal harp of Rachael Gladwin, which puts one in mind of Alice Coltrane’s trance-like jazz of earlier decades. Adam Fairhall’s stark piano voicings, and the harmonised lines of Halsall and saxophonist Nat Birchall, recall the language of McCoy Tyner, though the music’s temperature is cooler as it ebbs and flows. In its more restrained way, it predicted the kind of sound Kamasi Washington would start documenting a few years later. Elegant strings appear (and Halsall himself does not) on “Sailing Out to Sea” and “Wee Lan (Little Orchid)”, while Lisa Mallett’s flute brings another new flavour on “The Sun in September” and drummer Luke Flowers stirs things up rhythmically on the closing “Finding My Way”.

Album: Into Forever by Matthew Halsall (2015)
Genre: Jazz
Record Label: Gondwana Records
Format: Album

Description: UK trumpeter Mathew Halsall continues to expand his vision on his second album with the Gondwana Orchestra. It’s not just flowery description to say he disappears into the music, because it’s literally true: There’s virtually no trumpet at all on Into Forever until the brief solo breaks on the title track and the slowly rolling melody of “Daan Park”. The Gondwana sound is texturally richer and more varied than some of Halsall’s earlier work, with long-time associate Rachael Gladwin still on harp but also Keiko Kitamura on koto, a contingent of string players and beautiful flute from Lisa Mallett on “The Land Of” and “Longshan Temple”. There’s also percussion to complement Luke Flowers’ drums, and a stronger groove element in the music overall—but by the same token, there are some tracks without any drums, including three short string interludes. Most significantly, five vocal tracks give Into Forever a kind of modern pop feel: Josephine Oniyama comes on board for four songs (three of which she co-wrote), and the closing “Jamais Vu” features its co-writer Bryony Jarman-Pinto.

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2010s, Album, Gondwana Records

UK trumpeter Mathew Halsall continues to expand his vision on his second album with the Gondwana Orchestra. It’s not just flowery description to say he disappears into the music, because it’s literally true: There’s virtually no trumpet at all on Into Forever until the brief solo breaks on the title track and the slowly rolling melody of “Daan Park”. The Gondwana sound is texturally richer and more varied than some of Halsall’s earlier work, with long-time associate Rachael Gladwin still on harp but also Keiko Kitamura on koto, a contingent of string players and beautiful flute from Lisa Mallett on “The Land Of” and “Longshan Temple”. There’s also percussion to complement Luke Flowers’ drums, and a stronger groove element in the music overall—but by the same token, there are some tracks without any drums, including three short string interludes. Most significantly, five vocal tracks give Into Forever a kind of modern pop feel: Josephine Oniyama comes on board for four songs (three of which she co-wrote), and the closing “Jamais Vu” features its co-writer Bryony Jarman-Pinto.

Album: When the World Was One by Matthew Halsall (2014)
Genre: Jazz
Record Label: Gondwana Records
Format: Album

Description: A bright light on the British jazz scene, trumpeter/bandleader/DJ Matthew Halsall has turned a lot of heads since his 2008 debut. On his fifth album, he’s writing and arranging for a large pool of players (including Cinematic Orchestra drummer Luke Flowers, flautist Lisa Mallett and harpist Rachael Gladwin). Here he looks back to the early ‘60s music created by John Coltrane and his compatriots on Impulse! Records. Even so, Halsall has his own voice here, just as his illustrious idols did then: it’s soulful, wide-open and aspirational.

Artist Background: Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader of "Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra". Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Music Scene: Part of the Manchester, UK music scene. Associated with Jazz movement.

Tags: Jazz, 2010s, Album, Gondwana Records


A bright light on the British jazz scene, trumpeter/bandleader/DJ Matthew Halsall has turned a lot of heads since his 2008 debut. On his fifth album, he’s writing and arranging for a large pool of players (including Cinematic Orchestra drummer Luke Flowers, flautist Lisa Mallett and harpist Rachael Gladwin). Here he looks back to the early ‘60s music created by John Coltrane and his compatriots on Impulse! Records. Even so, Halsall has his own voice here, just as his illustrious idols did then: it’s soulful, wide-open and aspirational.

Matthew Halsall

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