Trombonist Matthew Hartnett to Release “Southern Comfort” on Feb. 19th, 2016

Matthew Hartnett - Southern Comfort

Trombonist Matthew Hartnett Pays Tribute to
New Orleans Brass and Gospel Roots on Debut Album,
Southern Comfort – Available February 19

Though he’s based in Brooklyn, trombonist/composer Matthew Hartnett is a southern boy at heart. Those roots are unearthed on Hartnett’s debut album, Southern Comfort, to be released on February 19. Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and raised in Houston, Texas, Hartnett’s music ranges from New Orleans brass band sounds and the gospel celebration of the southern church, to Houston’s homegrown “chopped and screwed” sound and the smooth soul that has landed him on stages with the likes of Talib Kweli, Lauryn Hill, Robert Glasper and Kirk Franklin.

“All the things that made me the musician that I am are derived from the south,” Hartnett says. “Southern Comfort embodies my style and music in words.”

Joining Hartnett on the album is a skilled band made up of the cream of the trombonist’s first-call colleagues. Sharing the frontline with him are several members of “#TeamHornSection,” the franchised line-up of crack horn players (with a branch based in Europe as well) that can deliver sharp playing and impressive dance moves on demand. Propelling them is a deeply funky rhythm section featuring keyboardist Ondrej Pevic, bassist Dmitri Gorodetsky, guitarist (and fellow Lake Charles native) James Lewis, and drummer Adam Jackson.

The precision of that band is shown off to full effect on a tune like “No Patience,” which Hartnett suggests could also bear the alternate title “How I Feel About New York.” The song’s frenetic pace and anxious, stuttering rhythms capture the metropolis’ vigorous energy at its most alluring, but Hartnett hasn’t always found the adjustment from the friendlier, more laid-back south to be an easy one. He traces that tension, and the breadth of his journey, throughout Southern Comfort.

Matthew Hartnett
Photo Credit: D2LAL Media

“Culturally, it’s completely night and day,” Hartnett says of the contrast between his two home cities. “Everything in Houston is easy and comfortable; there’s not much struggle going on. In New York, you have to fight every second and money drives everything, but in the south the culture is more about family. What I like about Brooklyn is the opportunity to be around a bunch of other young, progressive, cultured black people.”

Hartnett originally picked up the trombone in 6th grade band. Originally attracted to the clarinet, peer pressure necessitated a switch when he found himself surrounded by girls in the band room. After making his way to the more testosterone-heavy low brass section, he quickly established himself as first chair trombonist, a position he maintained throughout his school years. Hartnett continued his music studies at Texas Southern University, where he was a proud member of the renowned Ocean of Soul marching band. Those days are commemorated in the muscular “Pump and Drive,” whose title refers to one of the band’s signature drill moves.

Unlike many of his peers, Hartnett wasn’t obsessed with music as a kid. As he says, “I wasn’t a music geek growing up; I was an athlete and kind of a thug. When my colleagues were 16 they were learning about Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. I didn’t know nothing about that stuff. I knew about football, I knew about the streets, and I listened to Swishahouse.”

For the uninitiated, Swishahouse is a North Houston record label dedicated to the city’s “chopped and screwed” hip-hop sound, innovated by DJ Screw and characterized by slowed-down tempos and skipped beats. Southern Comfort closes with a sharp turn into screwed music with “Da Crib,” featuring samples from some of Hartnett’s favorite songs and vocals by LaChrisha Brown. “That track is probably not for everybody,” Hartnett allows, “but if you’re from Houston you’re gonna know what’s up when that track come on.”

On the flip side of Hartnett’s upbringing is his dedication to the church, which is the source of several compositions. “I Surrender All” opens the album with some deeply felt testifying on trombone, accompanied only by organ. The robust grooves of “Thursday Night” were inspired by Houston’s citywide church rehearsal night. “If you’re a working musician in Houston, on Thursday night you’re busy,” Hartnett laughs.

“New Sun Light Lake Charles” is named for the church Hartnett attended in the city of his birth, where he spent his summers growing up. Both it and “Glory Glory,” a compendium of gospel melodies set to a brass band beat, reflect the second line rhythms of New Orleans. While the Crescent City is on the opposite side of the state from Lake Charles, Hartnett didn’t have to travel far to glean its influence: both before and especially after Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleanians relocated to Houston, bringing their brass band culture with them.

“If you go to Dallas or Austin you’re not going to ask for gumbo or crawfish or étouffée,” Hartnett says. “That doesn’t exist anywhere in Texas except Houston. All the things that you know and love as a product of Louisiana you can get in Houston. That’s my comfort zone.”

From the time he landed his first professional gig in a Houston nightclub, Hartnett quickly established himself as one of the go-to sidemen for artists traveling through the city. He carried that reputation with him when he relocated to New York City in 2010, and has since accompanied countless R&B, gospel, and hip-hop superstars. “In and Out” shows off his more soulful side, in the musical sense; in the personal sense, he bares his soul on “She’s in Spain” and “Summer 2011,” which movingly chart his relationship with his now ex-wife.

Southern Comfort features an adept band playing a wide range of styles, but Hartnett wasn’t looking to show off his diversity, he insists. “That’s always been my musical preference. I guess it’s just in me. We tend to gravitate toward things that resonate with us, and from gospel and Negro spirituals to R&B, that music resonates with me. I feed the music and the music feeds me.”

Matthew Hartnett · Southern Comfort
D2LAL MMC · Release Date: February 19, 2016

For more information on Matthew Hartnett, visit: MatthewHartnett.com

DL Media

MORE News on T.U.M.S.!

The City of Philadelphia Honoring Frankie Beverly With Street Renaming Ceremony In May
R&B Singer Tony Walk to Release New Single "Tell Me You Want It" on April 5th, 2024
Mariah Carey Receives SoundExchange Hall of Fame Award
Gospel Singer Hezekiah Walker Set to Break Ground on East Brooklyn Affordable Housing Development
Music Legend Maurice White’s Final Recordings "Manifestation" Coming May 3rd, 2024 | WATCH NEW TRAIL...
Kevin Flournoy and Amanda Cole to Release New Track “To The Water” on April 5th, 2024 | LISTEN! New ...
Jazz/Funk Bassist Christian de Mesones to Release New Album “You Only Live Twice” on April 12th, 202...
The Bobby Broom Organi-Sation to Release New Live Project "Jamalot" on May 24th, 2024 | WATCH NEW VI...
Percussionist Eric Frazier to Release New Project "That Place, Featuring Return of The Panther Woman...
Gospel Singer Keri Fraser to Release New Single "You Are Holy" on March 29th, 2024
Nigel Hall & DJ Harrison to Release Tribute Album "The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of ...
Sierra Green & The Giants Releases New Single "Break in the Road" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Jazz Guitarist Adam Hawley Releases New Album "Unstoppable" | LISTEN! Announces New Tour Dates for 2...
Davido and Lila Iké Release New Single “Flex My Soul” | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Blue Note Records Announces New Run of Titles for Classic Vinyl Reissue Series
GRAMMY-Winning Musician Don Was Announces New Group Don Was and The Pan-Detroit Ensemble | WATCH NEW...
R&B Singer Devon Howard Releases New Album "Morning Son" | LISTEN!
Director P. Frank Williams Launches Multimedia Venture "For The Culture, By The Culture"
Sheila E. Releases New Single "Bemba Colorá" feat Gloria Estefan & Mimy Succar | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Funk/Soul-Jazz Group The New Mastersounds to Release New Album "Old School" on March 29th, 2024 | LI...
Singer Lawrence Rosenborough Releases New EP "Human Relations" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Soul-Blues Singer Sugaray Rayford to Release New Album "Human Decency" on June 14th, 2024 | LISTEN!
The Powerhouse Fellowship Soul Choir feat. Shawn Cotterell Release New Single "God Is Good" | WATCH ...
Bay Area Saxophonist Raffi Garabedian Releases New Project "The Crazy Dog" | LISTEN!
Latin Jazz Ensemble Dave Schumacher & Cubeye to Release New Album "Smoke In The Sky" on April 12th, ...
Photographer Matthew Jordan Smith to Release New Book "Aretha Cool: The Intimate Portraits" on March...
Jazz Guitarist Ronny Smith to Release New Album "Struttin" on April 19th, 2024
Saxophonist Michael Cates Releases New Single "Get On It" | LISTEN!
Jazz Guitarist Norman Brown to Release New Album "It Hits Different" on March 29th, 2024 | LISTEN!
Singer/Songwriter Gene-o aka “Classic Twist” Releases New Single “Holding Back The Years” feat. Saxo...
Jazz Guitarist Chris Standring to Release New Project "As We Think" on April 5th, 2024
Violinist Alexa Torres & Her Quartet to Release New Album "In Situ" on June 14th, 2024
Vocalist Queen Esther to Release New Album "Things Are Looking Up" on April 9th, 2024 | LISTEN!
Saxophonist Mo Louis Releases New Track "To The Maxx" feat. Jeff Lorber | LISTEN!
Sevana Releases New Single "Keep Going (Chosen)" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Norah Jones Releases New Album "Visions" | WATCH NEW VIDEO! Announces New Tour for 2024
R&B Singer Ledisi Releases New Single “Perfect Stranger” feat. Kenny Lattimore | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Saxophonist Melissa Aldana Releases New Track "A Story" | WATCH NEW VIDEO! New Album Drops April 5th...
The Stylistics To Re-Release Album "Love Is Back In Style" On March 8th, 2024 | WATCH & LISTEN!
Singer ROME Releases Cover of Lee Fields Soul Song "Forever" | WATCH NEW VIDEO!