Phil Mattson

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Phil Mattson (born 1938 or 1939 in Brainerd (Minnesota) ; † January 9, 2019 ) was an American jazz musician ( piano , arrangement ) who worked in the Twin Cities as head of a vocal ensemble and singing teacher. Mattson had a decisive influence on the development of jazz singing with his arrangements and teaching methods.

Live and act

Mattson initially earned a degree in philosophy, theology, and music from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota; he then studied choral literature and orchestral conducting at the University of Iowa . He then taught at the School for Music Vocations at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa for 18 years before moving to the Twin Cities. There he was the director of choral activities at Foothill College and Gonzaga University ; He also taught at Pacific Lutheran University and The Phil Mattson School . As an arranger, he has worked with vocal groups such as The Manhattan Transfer , Chanticleer, The Real Group, The Dale Warland Singers , The Four Freshmen , Clockwork, Beachfront, Solstice, Phoenix and the Clarion Chamber Chorale . He has also accompanied vocalists such as Mark Murphy , Bobby McFerrin , Sunny Wilkinson , Barbara Morrison , Maud Hixson , Richie Cole , Ernestine Anderson and Carmen Lundy .

Mattson also directed several jazz vocal ensembles, including the Phil Mattson Singers for seven years , with whom he released three albums. He was also the director of vocal jazz at the Stan Kenton Clinics ; annually he directed the Carnegie Hall Vocal Jazz Festival and the Phil Mattson Vocal Jazz / Choral Workshops on campuses in the United States, Canada and Europe. In 2016, Mattson received the Jazz Education Network's Lifetime Achievement Award . Mattson, who last lived in Studio City , died in early 2019 at the age of 80 from the sequelae of a motorcycle accident that occurred in 2015. According to Tom Lord , he was involved in seven recording sessions in the field of jazz between 1984 and 2013.

Discographic notes

  • Phil Mattson & The PM Singers Setting Standards (1984)
  • Phil Mattson and The PM Singers: Jubilee (1985)
  • Phil Mattson & The PM Singers: Night in the City (Dark Orchid, 1985)
  • Dorothy Doring & Phil Mattson: Compositions by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (2013)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Andrea Center: RIP Phil Mattson. Jazzpolice, January 9, 2019, accessed January 12, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Tom Lord: The Jazz Discography (online, accessed January 12, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Mattson, Phil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH 1938 or 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Brainerd, Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 2019