Music
Press
Matthews has a rich, distinctive voice that seems full of sunshine and joy. He is a genuine pleasure to kick back and listen to...." All Music Guide - All Media Guide
"Ansel Matthews, whose CD, "Raised From The Dust" has just been released is one of the most exciting singers I've heard in a long while. He's an interesting mixture of soul jazz singers Jon Lucien and Terry Callier, who fascinatingly - he's never heard, with a little bit of Richie Havens thrown in. As well as having one of the most soothing voices I've heard, he's an incredibly gifted composer and lyricist."
Tessa Souter- All About Jazz Newspaper - All About Jazz
"All six feet, six inches and 270 pounds of Ansel Matthews drips with soul when he sings. He wrings out his soul rag on the crowd and washes them with a gentle, rich vocal tone and light jazz accompaniment. Blessed with a smooth, warm voice, Matthews works a blend that's part pop part storytelling and part prayer. He is an artist with an inspiring sense of social responsibility and onstage he instills reverence like a cathedral"
North By Northwest Music Festival
- (KH)Williamette Week
"A POWERFUL PERFORMER WHO BRINGS A LOT OF SOUL AND PASSION TO EVERY SONG HE SINGS!"
Singout Magazine
- Sing Out Magazine
"I CAN'T GET YOUR SONGS OUT OF MY HEAD WHAT BEAUTY AND TRUTH"--PETE SEEGER
- Personal Review
Discography
"Workings of the Heart"-Palmetto Records
produced by Matt Balitsaris
Worldwide debut- released by an indie lable
national airplay along with store and internet purchases
"Raised from the Dust"- self release
produced by John Sonntag (Thunder Pumpkin Records)
Available through itunes, CD baby, and Amazon.com
Columbia's Postcrypt Cafe 30yr anniversary CD-released by 1 800 prime CD (producer David Seitz) a complilation of the best singer/songwriters of the day
Smithsonian Institute Folkway Collection
Photos
Bio
Though he has shared the stage with performers such as Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and has traveled the world as a member of the Gloria Gaynor Band, It was not always a given that Ansel Matthews would devote his life to music. Glancing at his massive six foot six frame, you would never expect such a sensitive singer/songwriter guitarist to emerge from this structure.
Growing up in Orlando, Fla in the late sixties and seventies, Ansel followed the norm for most young boys blessed with wide open spaces and year long sunshine, engaging and excelling in sports. That along with early success in the academic classroom gave him plenty of paths to chose from on the road of life. "It's easy," says Ansel, "when you are young and unsure to listen to the voices of those around you and because they are many, let them drown out your voice from within." So when his athlecticism and good grades won him a Football scholarship to Furman University, Ansel assumed he must be on the right path.
Not from a musical family, Ansel asked for a recieved a guitar for his ninth birthday. Inspired by the lyrics from the singer/songwriters of the day such as Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Janis Ian etc., he spent countless hours listening and learning their songs. "What I found so enthralling was their truth seeking, brutal honesty and courage to say what we all know but are afraid to reveal," says Ansel.
It was that same type of courage that eventualy made him start listening and trusting his voice within, so after college he headed up to New York to follow his dream. Now a veteran of the New York Music scene, Ansel has promoted his music by playing in festivals- North by Northwest, South by Southwest and has performed in renown venues such as Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. He has been recorded on numerous complilations (Prestigious Smithsonian Institute Folkway Recordings, Columbia's Postcrypt 30th Anniversary CD) and has released a Cd with an indepedent label "Workings of The Heart"- Palmetto Records in addition to his self-release Cd "Raised From The Dust". "In retrospect", admits Ansel "had I not the courage to make that leap of faith I probably would be living a safer more comfortable life, but it would have silenced and eventually killed my voice within." Nothing gives him greater joy than sharing that voice with those who are willing to listen.
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