Album Notes

hi i\'m matt, and thanks for visiting me...

i am a solo saxophonist living in cincinnati, ohio.
some people have asked, \"why do you play solo rather than play in a band?\" and the reason is that in playing alone, the beauty, simplicity, and freedom are just too good to pass up.
i do however play in two duo groups. i am the second half of the ambient duo \"barnett / baumann\" with guitarist eric barnett and the other member of \"upaj\" with tabla master jim feist.

while difficult to categorize, the music I play is more or less an ambient, open, and free kind of music that relies heavily on longer tones and folk-like melodies. in addition to an open sound, i do sometimes use more modern saxophone techniques like key clicks, breath effects, and multiphonics to help create more distance and echoes in my music.

the music i play is heavily influenced by places of desolation, deserts, sky, emptiness, and the great open spaces (both that i\'ve seen and those i long to see).

\"drifter\" is my first release and the music contained here is the first solo saxophone music i had ever composed and recorded. usually i played in trios or quartets playing jazz standards or jazz-rock types of music, but due to circumstances beyond me i found myself playing alone. the catalyst for playing solo came after i discovered trumpeter bill dixon and his solo album \"collection\". after hearing him i knew what i wanted to do and so i began recording a lot of music very quickly. \"drifter\" is the companion cd to the second album \"deserter\". i feel both complement each other very well and are very similar. i truly hope you enjoy the music here and thank you for reading and thank you so much more for listening...

MB