MGP Portugal Tour - Day 6

We had a fabulous final show at Braco de Pratas last night.

A little about Braco de Prata.... "A manufacturer of weapons during the dark years of dictatorship in Portugal, the long-disused facility was reborn as Lisbon's most ambitious new cultural venue. Guns and grenades were replaced by concert rooms, exhibition spaces, a sprawling bookstore, a cinema, a restaurant and various bars." -International Herald Tribune

LISTEN TO TRACKS FROM LAST NIGHT HERE -

Cafe del Prado featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).

Solo Bass intro to Sundari featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).


East Third featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).







Miguel, Ze, Scott, Satya, Neal and MG.

MGP Portugal Tour - Day 5

Band sounded incredible last night for our second show at Catacumbas in Barrio Alto! I can only imagine how far we could take things if we kept on going. Catacumbas has a great listening audience and I have made a lot of new Portuguese Fans there. Thanks to Manuel to owner for a the invitation to play. Above from left to right... Me, Ze Maria, Satya, Neal Alger, Scott Anderson, and Miguel Casais after the show outside Catacumbas in Barrio Alto.

LISTEN TO AUDIO FROM LAST NIGHT-
Bass Intro (Moon is a Harsh Mistress) to Aiye Meherbahn featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).

Song For Ciro featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax). (sorry for clipping at end - more tracks soon!)





We´re playing a really cool venue tonight called the Fábrica Braço de Prata that was recently featured in the New York Times as an up and coming performance space in Lisbon.

We are also doing lots of filming here for a MGP in Portugal DVD.

Later!
matt

MGP Portugal Tour - Day 4

Last night was a show to remember and the best so far. This was in a large part due to the great audience at Be Jazz Cafe. We made the trek out to Be Jazz about 40 minutes from Lisbon. It seemed like this venue was in the middle of nowhere and to find the club Miguel Casais, our drummer, was on the phone with the club owner navigating our way there through a bunch of zig zagging side streets once we crossed the bridge from Lisbon. Be Jazz cafe was a very nice room...a bread bakery converted to a jazz club. You can see where the ovens were just behind the stage.

LISTEN TO AUDIO FROM LAST NIGHT-
GFUNK featuring me on Bass, Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).

Arcos da Lapa featuring Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Satya Gummuluri(voz), Miguel Casais(drums),

Shinjuku featuring Neal Alger (gtr), Scott Anderson(gtr), Miguel Casais(drums), Ze Maria(sax).















Gigs start late in Portugal. At the earliest our first sets are 11:30pm. Since we got this gig at the very last moment due to a cancellation at Speakeasy I had no idea if anyone would even be there. To my surprise by 11:30 the club was packed. I guess word spreads quickly. There was a change in their normal schedule to accomodate us so we were grateful for that.


We played the same set list from the 2 previous nights. There is a really nice aspect of playing multiple nights in a row. It allows the music to really settle in and become more and more polished. I`m accustomed to doing one off gigs back in the states with my group so this is a treat.
















I was really happy with how the music went over. People really dug it and got what I´m doing with blending sounds from different countries within the context of my compositions. Multiple folks went out of their way to describe to me what aspects of my music they appreciated. I sold out all of my CDs almost instantly. A sophisticated, appreciative and welcoming European audience is always ideal. It doesn´t get much better.














Tonight we´re back in Barrio Alto for another hit at Catacumbas. Saturday night in Lisbon!

MGP Tour - Portugal - Day 3

Some highlights from last night´s performance at Catacumbas in Barrio Alto in Lisbon. A smoking solo from guitarist Neal Alger.

Everyone was pretty psyched with our show and since it was a more intimate space we really had a tight group sound. Nice audience.


We got word earlier today that our show at Onda Jazz is cancelled tonight because the city shut the club down for some odd reason. Ciro and our new friend and great guitarist Fred immediately got on the case and booked us at another club called the BE JAZZ CAFE just outside of Lisbon. What luck!!!

Also here is some live audio from last night`s Catacumba show. Click on links to download.

SONG FOR CIRO - Part 2 - BASS SOLO - MP3

EAST THIRD STREET - MP3

SONG FOR CIRO - Part 1 - GUITAR SOLO - MP3

SENOR HAVANA CLUB


East Third performed last night.

None of this would have been possible without my boy CIRO. at - Check him out here!

Running off to gig #4.... catch u on the flip side. -matt

MGP Tour - Portugal Day 2

Speakeasy was a success and the band sounded great. Scott Anderson flew in from NYC and played steel string and nylon guitar with us and brought some interesting colors and textures to the music. Miguel Casais continued to impress me with his approach to my music from my CD Passport. Not being familiar with my music from playing it live, he learned it directly from my CD. What makes it cool is that I have 3 different drummers on the CD and he learned each one of their idiosyncracies and styles almost spot on. Featured above from left to right-Scott Anderson, Neal Alger, me, Ze Maria, Miguel Casais, and Satya.

Our set list at Speakeasy was -
1. C and D Groove
Lisboa
Song for Ciro
Aiye Meherbahn
Cafe del Prado
East 3rd
Sundari
2. Havana Club
Ali Da Malang
Arcos da Lapa
Fez el Bali
Shinjuku
Gfunk














Speakeasy was a blast but everyone is looking forward to tonight when we play Catacumbas, a more informal venue in the heart of Barrio Alto.

We have some great video and audio from our performances. Visit this blog tomorrow to check out the footage and hear hot clips.
Peace! -matt

MGP Tour - Portugal Day 1

Starting to get in the groove over here. Had an exciting evening last night at Speakeasy and met a lot of talented local musicians that were performing and hanging out to hear us play. The first group that performed called Groove4tet, was a really tight unit that played in the style of Soullive, followed by JazzMe Brown, kind of a smooth jazz funk project. Then an afro pop singer by the name of Yami showed up to play a couple of his Angola inspired songs. The whole vibe of the evening was wonderful and it was the ideal way to kick things off.

Speakeasy is a mid sized club down by the water in Lisbon, with a spectactular view of the 25 de Abril Bridge, designed by the same company that built the Golden Gate bridge. It connects the city of Lisbon with the municipality of Almada crossing the Tagus river. Speakeasy is a popular destination for music late night and we will be headlining tonight there. I will give some kudos to Miguel Casais, drums, and Ze Maria, sax, for stepping up and bringing the goods. I think with 5 shows ahead of us we will just dig deeper with the music but I was quite happy with our first set of the tour. This was the very first gig we did with them on board and it was solid. Rave reviews for Neal Alger on guitar and Satya had some beautiful moments.


This must be the best time of year to be in Lisbon...beautiful weather and I am staying in Barrio Alto, chock full of small restaurants, late night watering holes, winding cobblestone streets, graffiti, funky shops and a bohemian vibe in the air.

It is good to be back in Europe and with such a great band the possibilities are endless. Doors seem to be opening up. We already got invited to play a jazz festival here in 2009 and word has it that we will get a chance to hang with one of the most famous brazilian singers of all time, Ivan Lins, later this week when he is in town on tour. That should be a blast.

Pics, audio and video from performances soon. Til next time!

Matt