Matt Owens double bass / Kirsty Almeida vocals / John Ellis piano & keyboards / Richard Wetherall piano & keyboards / Rick Weedon drums & percussion
Matt Owens' suite Keys explores writing for two keyboard instruments in combination with bass percussion and vocals. Premiered at mjf 2014 at this same venue, featuring the mighty St Ann’s Church organ, this performance coincides with the release of the studio recording, at the same time helping to mark our celebration of some key players featured over mjf’s 30 festivals.
“...embracing jazz, salsa, African and classical music to create a hypnotic world music version of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra sound” is how the mjf2014 brochure conveyed Matt’s new music at the time. Since then, his work has been featured in films such as the four-times BAFTA Award-winning Patagonia, Best Christmas Ever and BIFA double-nominated Albatross, and a wealth of TV programmes around the world, including Top Gear, EastEnders and the hit series Arrow. His bass playing and arranging provides the foundation for many established artists' recordings and live projects.
Highly regarded mjf performances of Matt's compositions include the 2009 mjf originals commission Ten, and the 22-piece Latin big band La Gran Descarga, which had everyone on their feet for concerts at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall and Salford's Lowry Theatre.
In 2015, Matt released his debut album The Aviators’ Ball, combining jazz and classical wind quartet. The critically acclaimed album was described as "one of the most gorgeous albums you’ll hear this year" (Echoes Magazine) and featured BBC Folk Award Vocalist of the Year Ríoghnach Connolly. It still receives regular air play on France's national radio station FIP.
