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Jim Levitt
Matt Jorgensen
Seattle Beat
After a decade in New York, drummer Matt
Jorgensen needed a change of scenery. His
timing couldn’t have been better. Returning to
Seattle in 2002, Jorgensen not only established
a reputation as a versatile sideman throughout
the West Coast; he also helped operate a record
label that was starting to receive attention. “The
attraction of moving back to Seattle was being
able to stay in one town and really have more of
a home base,” he said.
Jorgensen, 39, moved to New York in 1992.
He attended the New School for Jazz and
Contemporary Music, studied privately with
Carl Allen and Kenny Washington, and played
countless gigs. He also met and married his
wife, Rebecca.
The early 2000s marked the end of an era in
jazz, according to Jorgensen. By then, he
recalled, a significant number of prominent
musicians from the 1950s and ’60s had died or
had stopped performing. “I feel really lucky that
I got to see Max Roach [perform] live a number
of times,” he said, adding: “I got to have lunch
with him, and he played my drums.
“I got to meet Arthur Taylor and see Arthur
Taylor play,” he continued. “I gave Elvin Jones
a ride in my car. I became friendly with Joe
Chambers. My time in New York was really like
finishing school.”
Jorgensen and John Bishop, another Seattle
drummer, began Origin Records in 1997 as a
means to document their own work, in addition
to the music of their friends and peers in
the Pacific Northwest. It has developed into an
imprint whose catalog includes 340 albums,
many featuring nationally recognized artists.
After producing a series of bookings at
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, the two established the
Ballard Jazz Festival in 2003, a five-day event
showcasing regional and national artists.
“We’re basically about as far away from
[Los Angeles] and New York as you can get,”
Jorgensen said. “In the late ’90s, no one was
going to give us a record deal. So we decided to
just do it ourselves and see what would happen.”
Jorgensen’s six albums on Origin include his
most recent, Tattooed By Passion (2010). He
describes his recordings with his former band,
451, as an amalgam of rock and free-jazz.
Trumpet player Thomas Marriott’s Human
Spirit (2011) featured Jorgensen and saxophonist
Mark Taylor, a member of Jorgensen’s 451
group. The lineup coalesced into a working
band that adopted its moniker from the album.
The three musicians have recorded albums for
Origin, and also appear on releases throughout
the label’s catalog. The group had planned
to record a live album in October at Seattle’s
Earshot Jazz Festival, with pianist Orrin Evans
and bassist Essiet Essiet. (The first album features
organ player Gary Versace.)
The band’s ever-changing rhythm section is
no accident. Jorgensen enjoys performing with a
variety of musicians, including Eric Alexander,
Corey Christiansen, Tim Ries’ Rolling Stones
Project, Stanley Jordan and Ian Hendrickson-
Smith (formerly of the Dap-Kings). “I always try
to approach any given musical setting I’m in [by
playing] that music, not necessarily [playing] my
vibe,” Jorgensen said. “Dissecting the history of
this music and being able to cover a lot of different
gigs and being able to play a lot of different
music in the appropriate way—that, to me, is
what’s inspiring right now.” —Eric Fine
DECEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 23