“Celestial Heart, an album that has recently taken the world by storm...seamlessly weaves together classic lush tones with audacious experimentation, incorporating multiphonics, melodic vocals, and even hints of spoken word poetry...Matt Von Roderick, a virtuoso trumpeter and vocalist…showcases an explorative and idiosyncratic approach to interpreting classics…He embodies the spirit of exploration intrinsic to jazz’s tradition and its continuous evolution as an art form...”
—JAZZIZ Magazine
The authoritative voice of jazz culture
Matt Von Roderick and the Inspirational CELESTIAL HEART
Matt Von Roderick may be the modern jazz crooner-trumpeter we’ve been waiting for. With equal parts innovative jazz virtuosity and heart-centered vocals, trailblazer Von Roderick mines the essence of classic jazz, rock and electronica on CELESTIAL HEART and hits his mark.
Featuring legendary drummer Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Steely Dan), adventurous studio ace Mike Valerio and orchestration wizard Gil Goldstein (Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny), CELESTIAL HEART leads with Von Roderick’s out-of-this-world treatment of Fly Me To The Moon, perhaps even more true to the original song lyrics — a version you didn’t realize you needed until you hear it for the first time.
Utilizing his now signature multiphonics, loops and spoken word, CELESTIAL HEART cements Von Roderick’s place within the pantheon of the real-deal singing trumpeter. Where some may be content to merely play ‘at’ the jazz tradition and American Songbook, Von Roderick reinvents — creating compelling new worlds within these beloved, timeless structures.
Rounding out the proceedings on CELESTIAL HEART are a nod to Mose Allison with the earthy blues track The Seventh Son, featuring veteran bluesmen Johnny Lee Schell and Barry Goldberg, Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island, three entirely improvised pieces, and a stark, hauntingly beautiful I Fall In Love Too Easily.
Produced by Rob Feinfield, recorded in Los Angeles at Ultratone studios and out now via BFD/Sony/Orchard, Matt Von Roderick’s CELESTIAL HEART stands poised to perk up a whole lot of tired ears in the jazz world and beyond.
CELESTIAL HEART Track Listing:
1) FLY ME TO THE MOON
2) WAKING UP ON MARS
3) THE SEVENTH SON
4) CREPUSCULE ON JUPITER
5) CANTALOUPE ISLAND
6) PLAYING AMONG THE STARS
7) I FALL IN LOVE TOO EASILY
"A top-drawer trumpeter who also sings like an angel obscured by a storm cloud...dreamy...gorgeously windswept."
–JazzTimes Magazine
"Alternative jazz alchemist Matt Von Roderick emerges...otherwordly...larger-than-life..."
–Top40-charts.com
"...a post-millennial Chet Baker...further polishes a trumpet and vocals package."
–The New York Times
"Taking Jazz Into The Future”
–Downbeat Magazine
“…radio-ready...truly touches on brilliant originality...what Miles Davis might search for if the innovative jazz trumpeter were still alive.”
–AXS
"...cutting edge...award winning jazz trumpeter with a well vetted resume brings his jazz trumpet to mingle with rap, shoegaze and Martian electronics..."
–Midwest Record
"...this trumpeter has blown my freakin' mind apart...Hero's Journey is a storytelling album of the highest order...unlike anything I've ever heard...musical greatness..."
–Exclusive Magazine
"...a remarkable journey...otherworldly...if jazz is meant to move boundaries and offer newness…Matt Von Roderick fits the bill..."
–Soul and Jazz and Funk, UK
"...erotic...a jazzy trip..."
–Keys and Chords, Belgium
"...fresh...impressive rapping style...powerful and explosive...a bit of The Beatles flavor mixed in...enough to make you want to move..."
–EURweb
"Matt Von Roderick Makes Jazz Dangerous Again...innovative...performance stunner..."
–The Huffington Post
"...visionary...Von Roderick guides you to the precipice of pop music before brazenly pushing you over the edge...surrender to the sensual beats and electronic rhythms, and believe that the possibilities of musical alchemy are limitless, you will land safely..."
–Jazz Chill
"Jazz needs new warriors...jazz needs Matt Von Roderick...Hero's Journey is nothing less than an act of musical deliverance..."
–Matt Lohr, Contributing Writer; JazzTimes
“Intense and innovative…striking music…”
–New Jersey Star Ledger
"Matt Von Roderick is one of the most original musicians from the American music scene."
–NSSJ, SPAIN
