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BROCK MUMFORD's members have been playing moldy old music since before they were even old enough to have their bus passes stolen, so they're not inclined to beat the easy retreat into retro cliché, haphazard ironic pastiche, or faux-folksy hokum. BROCK MUMFORD was last seen in Paris in 1923. THE BAND: A bluegrass banjo
player since the age of nine, Matt Munisteri grew up devoted to
a wide range of out-of-date, out-of-place music. The music of The Beatles,
Hoagy Carmichael, Randy Newman, Cole Porter and The Band were as present
in his house as his own cherished Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley records.
This might be the reason for his unique synthesis of tradition and reach,
which is evident in his remarkable, homespun guitar technique, his “high
lonesome” jazz singing, and the easygoing whirlygig of language present
in his lyrics. His on-stage narratives and stories are laced with a relaxed,
winking irreverence and sly humor. After a chance late night meeting on a subway platform, Matt began playing French musette and gypsy swing music with Will Holshouser some 6 years ago, and their unique duo sound served as a jumping off point for the band. Matt and Will performed their mix of originals, hot instrumentals and American standards regulary at Pete's Candy Store, and were soon able to recruit their friend, and musical uber-talent, Jon Kellso to the fold. The band's sound serves to make novice listeners ask, "What kind of music is this"? And the honest answer is: It's Jazz. But no one wants to hear an honest answer, and given some of what's been enacted in jazz's good name, that's probably all for the best. The remarkable Danton Boller regularly holds does the bass chair, and BROCK is frequently, joyfully, augmented by the talents of Jenny Scheinman on violin, and Quincy Davis on drums. THE BIOS:
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Matt Munisteri is a Brooklyn native who grew up as almost assuredly the only bluegrass banjo player on his block. His lifelong interest in early American music led him from Country and Ragtime guitar, through Blues, to Tin Pan Alley and Jazz - all by the eighth grade. His own compositions and playing reflect this life-long devotion to the history of American Popular song - linking rural and urban, long gone and contemporary. After graduating from Brown University, Munisteri moved back to Brooklyn where he soon became a busy full time freelance musician. For four years he was the guitarist and principal songwriter for the eclectic/retro band The Flying Neutrinos, and served as Music Director for the band's 2000 release "The Hotel Child". Produced by Tommy LiPuma (Diana Krall, George Benson, Natalie Cole) and Al Schmitt (Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand) the CD featured many of Munisteri's songs and went on to reach number 6 on the Billboard Jazz charts. As one of New York’s first-call vintage guitar stylists, and a bit of wild card, he's regularly called upon to play on a wide range of CDs, television and radio commercials, and among his recent concert appearances are: Jazz at Lincoln Center with violinist Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing; Lincoln Center’s Avery Fischer Hall with Wynton Marsalis and The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra and Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks; Switzerland with Kenny Davern and Ed Polcer; New Zealand and the States with Prairie Home Companion’s violinist Andy Stein; Europe with Jenny Scheinman and Rachelle Garniez; and several jazz festivals as a featured member of Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra. His own band, BROCK MUMFORD, has made several European tours, and plays to full houses in New York at Joe’s Pub and the Jazz Standard. Matt has also performed and recorded with the singers Holly Cole, Madeline Peyroux, “Little” Jimmy Scott, and Geoff Muldaur, and has played in groups lead by Michael Blake, Evan Christopher, Frank Vignola, Tim Kliphuis, Jon Kellso, Greg Cohen, Dan Block, and many MANY others. His many television appearances include “Sessions at West 54th St”, “CBS This Morning”, and a recurring role – as the dormitory’s favorite guitarist - on “ABC's All My Children”. His playing can be heard on many Hollywood film soundtracks, including The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Ghost World, Blast From The Past, Two To Tango. As a singer he’s been the radio voice for Amstel Light ads for Christmas 2005, and the summer of 2006. He’s appeared several times on NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion", and his songs have been heard on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and NPR's "All Things Considered". Matt's primary vehicle for his compositions is his band BROCK MUMFORD. The band’s sound is a heady brew of contemporary popular song fused with hot jazz, small group swing, and the elegant romanticism of 1930's European jazz, and its debut CD "Love Story" wound up on many critics' "Best of 2003" lists – including garnering the number two slot on Amazon’s Top Ten Jazz CDs of 2003. A formidable lyricist (“Jazz musicians aren’t supposed to be able to write lyrics that good” – The Village Voice) his literate songs have been compared to Randy Newman, Mose Allison and Bob Dorough. In May of 2006 France’s ARTE television network broadcast several performances of Matt and his band throughout Europe, which were filmed by an ARTE crew in New York. Matt has been profiled in both Downbeat magazine and Acoustic Guitar magazine - receiving its Editor's Choice award - and has also been written about and pictured in The New Yorker, Time Out, and The Village Voice. His band tours regularly in Europe, has received national US radio airplay on college, Jazz, and Triple A formats, and has recently completed work on two new CDs (one recorded Live in Italy) due in the spring of 2007.
Will Holshouser started out on piano but switched to accordion when a friend bought him an old one at a rummage sale in the late 1980's. Since then he has been held in its thrall, exploring its possibilities as a jazz instrument while studying more traditional accordion styles, and becoming a busy freelancer. In 1990, he received a grant to study Cajun and Creole music in Louisiana. In 2000, Will toured with trumpeter Dave Douglas, and recorded with jazz saxophonist Michael Hashim and vocalist-composer David Garland, among others. In addition to Brock
Mumford, Will has worked with Phillip Johnston, Lenny Pickett, Andy Statman,
and others. Will plays in the Raymond Scott Orchestrette, a group that
performs new arrangements of Scott's innovative jazz and electronic compositions,
and recently released "Pushbutton Parfait". He has also served
as an arranger for sixties pop legend, Ronnie Spector, and currently tours
and records with klezmer clarinetist Davis Krakauer.
Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet) is widely regarded as the most important traditional jazz trumpeter of his generation. He started playing professionally in and around Detroit, Michigan where he was born and grew up. Jon was playing in a local big band at age 11, in the International Youth Symphony at age 13, and in a concert alongside Wild Bill Davison at age 17. While freelancing in Detroit Jon played with a wide variety of groups, including the J.C. Heard Orchestra. In '88 Jon-Erik joined James Dapogny's Chicago Jazz Band, with whom he's recorded extensively, and appeared in concerts throughout North America, on PBS Television, and NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion . Since moving to New York City in 1989 to join Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, Jon has enjoyed performing and recording with the likes of Ralph Sutton, Dan Barrett, Howard Alden, Doc Cheatham, Marty Grosz, Milt Hinton, Dick Hyman, Leon Redbone, Ken Peplowski, and Kenny Davern. Recent engagements include tours of Holland, Italy and Switzerland as a member of Dan Barrett's Blue Swing; tours of the U.K., Germany, Brazil and Spain as a featured soloist; jazz festivals in Ascona, Switzerland; Breda, Holland; San Marino, Italy; Molde, Norway; Edinborough and Nairn, Scotland; Brecon, Wales; Blackpool, England; jazz parties and festivals throughout the United States; two weeks at the Bilboquet jazz club in Paris; and a tour of Japan with Bob Haggart's last edition of the World's Greatest Jazz Band. Jon has been featured many times on Arbors Records, including two CDs as a leader, and on several with Ruby Braff.
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