In pursuit of an expressive and lyrical musical voice that balances the intellectual and emotional and emphasizes the fleeting but compassionate nature of our human condition, Blevins created MATTERHORN.
This album, Uzumati, recounts a journey through a remote mountain wilderness in the northern Sierra Nevada in 2008.
Synthesizing elements of jazz, rock, funk, and the avant-garde, Uzumati fuses electronic sounds and effects with acoustic instruments into a natural and captivating whole.
Based on the enigmatic history of the Yosemite region and its inhabitants, these compositions question what can be lost in translation over time. Uzumati roughly translates to “grizzly bear” in the Miwok language, but it is often incorrectly attributed to the name Yosemite--a corrupted phrase meaning “they are killers.”
Told through the blurred lens of a decade now past, it is a story of resilience and gratitude--a sonic depiction of expansive beauty and wonder filled with fearful reverence. While relating memories and impressions of mountain trails, passes, peaks, meadows, and lakes, this music also shares the challenges inherent in any worthwhile journey.
As the band's name tells you, MATTERHORN has a passion for climbing heights – both musically, with an alternately soaring and stargazing sound, and literally, drawing inspiration from trumpeter-leader John Blevins' backpacking exploits in Yosemite National Park's Matterhorn Canyon.
Matterhorn's new album Uzumati, a follow-up to its acclaimed, Shane Endsley-produced debut, will be released on October 12, 2018, on ears&eyes Records. With their exuberant jazz harmonies, indie rock touches, Balkan feels and reggae grooves, Blevins and company create an intriguing aural landscape to reflect on mighty Yosemite.
"Our lives are so fleeting--there's a timeline in the mountains of which we really have no conception," said Blevins. "On Uzumati [a Native American term for grizzly bear], we tried to capture some of that feeling."
Matterhorn boasts an imposing lineup of New York-based players including Blevins label mate Drew Williams on bass clarinet and tenor saxophone; his college pal Jeff McLaughlin on guitar, Jesse Bielenberg on bass, Nathan Ellman-Bell on drums, and John Doing on percussion.
Most of the members also contribute synthesizer and other electronic effects that give the music a cinematic feel – sometimes suggesting the dramatic soundtracks of the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson. There's an American heartland sensibility in the songs as well.
John Blevins - trumpet, effects, synthesizers
Drew Williams - bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, effects, Microbrute
Jeff McLaughlin - guitar, effects
Jesse Bielenberg - bass, effects
Nathan Ellman-Bell - drums, cymbals, percussion, Roland SPD
John Doing - percussion, glockenspiel
1. Peeler 09:15
2. Fearsome Creatures 06:09
3. Coda 09:11
4. Uzumati 03:26
5. Sawtooth 06:02
6. Kerrick 03:07
7. Paiute 03:35
8. Ember Dance 08:08
9. Mono 05:01
10. Deacon's Son 04:19
Recorded at Indaba Music in Queens, NY by Matt Dickey
Edited by Matt Dickey, John Blevins, and Drew Williams
Mixed by Matt Dickey and John Blevins
Mastered by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studios
Produced by John Blevins with Drew Williams, Jeff McLaughlin, Jesse Bielenberg, and Nathan Ellman-Bell
Executive Production by John Blevins and Jon Lijoi
Art/design by Federico Maksimiuk and Rocio Galarza
All compositions by John Blevins © and ℗ 2018 John Blevins Music (ASCAP), except "Fearsome Creatures" by Drew Williams © 2018 (ASCAP), “Mono” by Jesse Bielenberg and John Blevins © 2018 (ASCAP), and "Deacon's Son" by Philip Bradford Barr and Andrew Gilmore Barr with permission from Secret City Records © 2011.
