131 – Matt Jorgensen: Juggling Roles, Making Art for Art’s Sake, Playing and Writing Authentically

Matt Jorgensen was born and raised in Seattle and caught the jazz bug in high school. It sent him to New York in 1992 to study at the recently formed New School, after which he worked around town until 2002 when he returned to his hometown. He has since maintained an active performance schedule as a leader and sideman, playing with many modern jazz greats including Peter Bernstein, Reggie Workman, and Sam Yahel. He is also the cofounder of Seattle-based Origin Records and The Ballard Jazz Festival, and composes for recording projects, commercials, web series, films, and theatrical productions.

In this podcast, Matt talks about:

The influence of experiencing other art forms

How to bring a signature approach and voice to many different styles and genres

His experience at The New School, and how his career is still built on the relationships he formed there

Spending his 20s playing anything and everything in New York

What brought him back to Seattle, and how he has gotten to do more of what he wants to do there since.

Living and working in Seattle, before and after the tech boom

Working with public and private sponsors to get new music heard

How time spent away from the drumset on other responsibilities can “reset” his drumming and ideas

Composing for solo drumset/percussion

How finding his voice as a composer is just like finding his voice as a drummer – identifying strengths, playing to them, and being authentic

https://youtu.be/J8YeXU7Zsl0