JIM MATUS
30 West St., Hadley, MA 01035 USA; 413-584-2471
Composer, band leader, arranger, laouto/laoutar player, guitarist, teacher and studio engineer - specializing in progressive world fusion and improvisatory music
EDUCATION:
Guitar and Composition studies (2 years) at Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA)
Guitar studies with Pat Metheny and John Scofield
EXPERIENCE:
He has worked with musicians Don Cherry, Hassan Hakmoun, Anthony Jackson, Dave Weckl, Percy Jones, Alicia Svigals and Soft machine’s Hugh Hopper.
Band leader and/or co-leader of the following bands:
Quality Trio (1979); Noise R Us (1980); Your Real Parents (1984); Paranoise (1987); Mr Right (1989); Paranoise (1998); Mawwal (2004); Velocifer (2005); Impulse Ensemble (2010) TalaMana (2011)
Selected Performances:
CBGB's, Mudd Club, Max's Kansas City, Knitting Factory, Satalla, John Zorn's The Stone (NY), Iron Horse in Northampton, MA, Deerfield Academy (MA), Mehden Recital Hall/Univ. of Conn, Charter Oak Cultural Center (Hartford, CT), Johnny D's and The Lizard Lounge (Boston), Hilltown Folk Series (Shelburne Falls MA), The Loft (Brattleboro, VT), Full Moon Coffeehouse (Wendell, MA), The Latchis Theater (Brattleboro, VT) Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Recent Festival appearances: Solarfest (VT), The Garlic and Arts Festival (Orange, MA), The Better World Festival (Northampton MA), The Festival of Arts and Ideas (New Haven, CT), The Project Troubadour Festival (Lakeville, CT), Summer Wind’s “Hartford’s Rising Stars” (CT)
Other recent performances: Mawwal live on WAMC's Performance Place (National Public Radio); Impulse Ensemble performing as part of the Fusion Nomads Program with Hassan Hakmoun at Smith College, Northampton, MA; Impulse Ensemble performing as soloists with the Windham Orchestra at the Latchis Theater (Brattleboro, VT)
Releases as leader/producer:
Constant Fear Paranoise (Island records) 1987
Start A New Race Paranoise (Ozone Records) 1992
Self Titled Debut Mr. Right (Trillium Records) 1993
Private Power Paranoise (Ancient Records) 1999
Ishq Paranoise (Ancient Records) 2001
Spectre's Brutal Knock Velocifer (Ancient records) 2005
Black Flies Mawwal (Ancient Records) 2006
This Is All There Is Mawwal (Ancient Records) 2008
Initiation Impulse Ensemble (independent release) 2010
Sight Up Mawwal (Ancient Records) 2011
High Hills In The Creaving Road Mawwal (Ancient Records) coming in spring 2012
Awards:
2001 release ISHQ (Paranoise) up for a Grammy in the World Music category.
RECORD LABEL/RECORDING STUDIO:
Ancient Records / Old Schoolhouse Studio in Hadley, MA
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA, 2006 – to present