Matt Schofield is busting at the seams to bring his blues trio to Australia.
The 45-year-old British-born blues guitarist had a small taste, playing the Wangaratta Jazz Festival in 2018. But it was his only show in Australia.
In November he returns with his two British band members, Hammond organ wizard Jonny Henderson and drummer Evan Jenkins for seven shows, culminating in a headline gig at the Port Noarlunga Blues Festival in Adelaide on November 26.
Schofield was raised on BB King and Albert King's blues. He's in the British Blues Award Hall of Fame, and continues to cut new music after 30 years in the game.
Now based in Jupiter, Florida, he plays with both his UK band (Henderson and Jenkins) and his American band. He's just returned from a six-week European tour, playing blues festivals and venues in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
"I'm probably like the last garage band generation," he says in an interview this month. "Pre-internet. We just got together and hashed it out until it sounded good. Without any way to look it up online."
He's been playing with Henderson and Jenkins for 20 years, although they didn't see each other during the two years of pandemic lockdown. Schofield's trio with them is uniquely old-school, as Henderson is a Hammond organ gem.
"The music to me has always been about playing with other people," he says. "That's how I learned. When I decided I wanted to do this, I got a band together at school, age 13, said I'm playing guitar, another friend said I'm playing bass, a guy said I'll play drums. And we learned together, in the practice room.
"It was always an experience of playing live, with each other. Not backing tracks and shit like that."
Teaming up with a Hammond organ always felt natural to Schofield. It complemented his guitar style better than a power trio (bass and drums). "The organ became the perfect foil, more colourful sound, more harmonic sound, I didn't have to play aggressively," he says. "It was like my small big band, you know what I mean. Like a bigger sound, still just three guys."
Making the long trip to play one show in Australia in 2018 was a gamble, but Schofield figures it has paid off.
"It's always exciting to go to a new place and play for new people," he says. "We're happy to go play anywhere that people want to see us, basically. You know, I've probably been trying to answer people who say when are you going to come play in Australia for 15 years, so, it takes a brave promoter such as Gerrard [Allman] to put it together, to go for it and make it happen."
After decades of whirlwind touring, Schofield slowed it down, bought a place in Florida and began playing more select venues and festivals. Last week he had two nights at The Iridium Club on Broadway in New York City, where Les Paul played a residency for 14 years.
"We want to be able to present the music in a way we feel it deserves to be presented," he says. "So we can get the sounds we need, make a nice experience for the audience - so they're not up to their ankles in stale beer in some dive bar. We're trying to present in a way that's good for me and good for the fans, and respects the music."
Matt Schofield's tour: Nov 17, The Factory, Sydney; Nov 18, Lizotte's Newcastle; Nov 19, Princess Theatre, Brisbane; Nov 20, Way Out West, Melbourne; Nov 24, Harmonie German Club, Canberra; Nov 25, Memo Music Hall, Melbourne; Nov 26, Port Noarlunga Festival, Adelaide.
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