Daybreak is the second studio album by Boston-based guitarist Matt Greenwood. The first, Atlas, had received excellent international reviews, rightly so. It is an album of remarkable coherence and exemplary execution quality. Daybreak proves that it wasn’t a stroke of luck. Greenwood is a top performer, and also an inspired composer. He grew up in Zimbabwe (and played with Oliver Mtukudzi) and went on to study, among other places, at Berklee College.
Little technical showmanship in the program consisting of nine pieces, eight of which are original compositions (the other is a stunning, ultra-refined version of Claude Debussy’s The Blessed Damozel). On the contrary, an attention to delicate details and a precise focus on the quality of the textures, beautifully deployed. Greenwood constructs a journey of great expressive cohesion, mostly thoughtful, studious, with a few more brisk but never unnerving escapades.
There is something of Metheny in Greenwood’s playing, or even Nordic jazz. You feel transported to vast spaces without losing a strong sense of intimacy with the emotions being portrayed. His friends share the same line of thought. Gentleness, finesse, restraint.
The minimalist arpeggios of Mike Downes with the bow of his double bass in Strength to Spare are simply exquisite. And the infinitesimal chromatic interplay of the multi-tracked guitar in La demoiselle élue is stunning. Or, what about the almost telepathic symbiotic exchanges between guitar and drums in Paper Planes? The Zimbabwean percussionist Othnell ‘Mangoma’ Moyo brings refreshing textures to 1000 Paper Cranes and Guide My Hand. These are just a few examples.
Daybreak is not only a very high-quality album, but it is also an album that does a lot of good.
Matt Greenwood – Guitar, composition
Mike Downes – Double bass
Mark Kelso – Drums
Othnell ‘Mangoma’ Moyo – Percussion (4 and 9)
