by Chris Baber, Jazz Views The 16 pieces on this CD are named after fragments of poetry written 2,500 years ago by the Greek poetess Sappho. The fragments are included in the booklet accompanying the recording, in Ancient Greek and in translation (by Anne Carson), and range from several lines to short phrases, e.g, ‘of … Read More
Dave Sumner, Bandcamp Daily Trumpeter Matt Holman treats silence like sculpting clay. He gives shape to what isn’t there, and instills it with a presence that can fill the room. When he enfolds his songs with rich harmonic washes, the display of textures results in varying shades of color. Holman’s excellent 2013 release When … Read More
Phil Freeman, Stereogum This is a weird, arty, chamber jazz project that winds up displaying more guts than you might think it would. Matt Holman is a trumpeter, joined here by Sam Sadigursky on various instruments (soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and alto flute), Chris Dingman on vibraphone, and Bobby Avey on piano. No … Read More
Steve H., Bebop Spoken Here Inspired by the love poetry of Greek poetess Sappho written some two and a half millennia ago New York based trumpeter Matt Holman has produced The Tenth Muse consisting of 16 fragments. Each piece is titled fragment nnnx where nnn is a number between 4 and 168 and x where … Read More
By Ron Schepper, Textura For his sophomore album The Tenth Muse, New York City-based trumpeter Matt Holman drew for inspiration from the Ancient Greek poetry of Sappho (as translated by Anne Carson). Interestingly, he was introduced to the poet’s work by his wife when they were courting and found himself immediately enthralled by the power and … Read More
Matthew Acquiline, All About Jazz New York City-based trumpeter and composer Matt Holman cut his teeth performing and recording with distinguished musicians such as Fred Hersch, John Hollenbeck, and Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society before displaying his personal aesthetic of atmospheric chamber jazz with his debut album When Flooded in 2013. More recently, Holman found … Read More
Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times The title of rising New York trumpeter Matt Holman’s second release is a reference to Sappho, the ancient Greek poet whose love poems are known only through the tantalising fragments that have survived to the modern era. In tribute, Holman, an accomplished composer and arranger, has written a series of … Read More
by Leonid Auskern, Jazz Quad Это начинает казаться тенденцией. Уже второй раз в этом году я встречаюсь с альбомом, где толчком для создания музыки послужили литературные тексты, причем восходящие к седой старине. В январе это был альбом Дэйва Солджера The Eighth Hour of Amduat, основанный на древнеегипетских текстах, а сейчас трубач из Нью-Йорка Мэтт Холмэн … Read More
Jazz Trail New York-based trumpeter and composer Matt Holman has been upping the ante in the creative jazz universe through several valuable collaborations with Fred Hersch, John Hollenbeck, Kurt Elling, Andrew Rathbun, and Darcy James Argue. With sufficient artistic ambition to considering different styles, Holman inspired himself on the work of the ancient Greek poet … Read More
Trumpet Player/Composer Matt Holman Finds Inspiration in Ancient Greek Poetry for Ethereal Modern Chamber Jazz Compositions The Tenth Muse features Sam Sadigursky, Chris Dingman and Bobby Avey playing music based on the fragmentary, achingly familiar love poetry of Sappho At a time when our world seems to be plagued by divisiveness, it can be comforting … Read More
