Gilbert Matthews
Gilbert Matthews (* 28. September 1943 in Cape Town ; † 25. June 2020 ; and Gilbert Mathews ) was a South African drummer of the Creative Jazz , who lived in Sweden.
Live and act
Matthews began his career as a guitarist, initially on a self-made instrument, and played regularly in a small jazz club in Tiffany’s . There he switched to drums, initially as an autodidact . In 1968 he worked on recordings of Winston Mankunku ( Yakhal 'Inkomo ) and Chris Schilder ( Spring ) with. For political reasons he migrated to London in 1968, from there to New York and Los Angeles, where he had lessons from Max Roach and Elvin Jones . In the early 1970s he was a member of Ray Charles' band ; then he accompanied Sarah Vaughan . He also worked for Terry Gibbs . In 1975 and 1976 he was involved in recordings with Abdullah Ibrahim , Kippie Moeketsi and Basil Coetzee in Johannesburg and Cape Town . He founded the band Spirits Rejoice , with which two albums were created. He can also be heard on Juluka's album Universal Men .
In 1979 Matthews moved to Sweden, where he married and played in Christer Boustedt's band, with whom he recorded several albums. Johnny Dyani drew him for his albums Africa and Born Under the Heat . He also worked with Archie Shepp and was part of Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath in the 1980s . With the Brus Trio , which he formed with Arne Forsen and Ulf Akerhielm, he performed internationally at festivals and accompanied Roscoe Mitchell and Charles Tyler ; The last recordings with this trio were made in 2011 ( Celebration , with guests Fredrik Nordström and Mats Äleklint ). He also worked with John Tchicai and Misha Mengelberg .
After Christer Boustedt's death in 1986, his band formed the Contemporary Bebop Quintet with saxophonist Stefan Isaksson, with whom he recorded two albums and first appeared in South Africa in 1991. There he toured with Amanda Sedgwick's band in 2004 . He also led his own groups ( Hot House 1999) and played in the Swedish Mingus Band . In the last years of his life he was unable to perform for health reasons.
Discographic notes
- Spirits Rejoice African Spaces (1977, with George Tjefumani, Temba Mehlomakulu, Duke Makasi , Mervyn Africa , Russell Herman , Sipho Gumede )
- Chris McGregor and the South African Exiles Thunderbolt (1986, with Dudu Pukwana , Pinise Saul , Lucky Ranku , Harry Beckett , Johnny Dyani, Ernest Mothle )
- Hot House (1994, with Roland Keijser , Krister Andersson, Bengt Hanson)
- Vitold Reks Kapela Resoviana: The Polish Folk Explosion (2001, with Albert Mangelsdorff , Charlie Mariano , John Tchicai and others)
Web links
- portrait
- Where Are the Flowers for Gilbert?
- Gilbert Mathews at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Matthews, Gilbert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mathews, Gilbert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | South African jazz musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 28, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cape Town |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 25, 2020 |