{"id":831,"date":"2024-02-22T13:03:56","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T12:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gretchen-club.de\/blog\/?p=831"},"modified":"2024-04-23T16:23:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T14:23:32","slug":"jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sean Steinfeger w\/ Matt Johnson<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As your dad used to have a music shop it sounds like you’ve been growing up in heaven. What age were you around the time and can you share some more insights of it? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He always had the shop. It’s not so exciting as it sounds but I used to help out on Saturdays and could get to try out some of the keyboards. I used to get annoyed when customers came in haha!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What instruments did your dad and two brothers play when you were growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad played clarinet and organ and my brothers played piano.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you remember the very first time you consciously listened to music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not really, I had some piano lessons age 5 or so. That was the first time I really listened to music<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the reason for choosing the trumpet as your first instrument and what made you switch to keys within as a teenager?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried lots of instruments but I found an affinity with the Trumpet!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you could travel through time and take a few piano lessons from a deceased pianist,who would you choose and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe Bill Evans, I just love how he approached the piano.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did you decide to make music for a living and how did your parents react to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I drifted into it and started age 16. My parents were cool with it although they weren’t sure I could do well!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you name your top 3 living pianists who have had the biggest influence on you and your sound?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herbie Hancock, Richard Barbieri, Stevie Wonder<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost every musician starts their career with hustling. Can you maybe share some of your struggles back then and which jobs you did to pay your rent?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well I did some door to doors sales although I was useless! I moved to London age 21 and I busked on the streets for the first few months to make ends meet<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since auditioning for Jamiroquai in 2002 was the turning point for you as a musician, could you tell us a little more details about it (nervousness, vibes..)?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn’t really nervous but it was exciting to suddenly be at Jay’s mansion playing with the band. I just did my thing and went home. I was so exhausted afterwards I went to bed and never answered when Jay called me to tell me I got the job!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You started out in the London scene in the 90s and have been playing keys for Jamiroquai since the early 2000s – what made you decide to start your solo career in 2020?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mostly Covid, suddenly I had the time to do it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did Mononeon come to play bass on two songs on your debut album \u201eWith The Music\u201c?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just reached out to him on instagram and he said he was up for it. He played some great stuff on that album<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes your appoach to composing new music as a solo artist different from working with others?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well I don’t have to please anyone except myself. That is liberating but also more demanding<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve already played on both: the big stages and in smaller venues. Regardless of the artist’s fee, what do you prefer to play when you have to choos and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love massive crowds, preferably outdoors in a hot country! But then I also love small venues when the sound is good and the crowd is up for it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your personal philosophy of \u201ejazz\u201c?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t really regard myself as a Jazz musician. I’m only interested in self expression.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you had a free budget which singer would you like to collaborate with and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe Anderson Pak, I love his vibe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine if you could only listen to 3 albums for the rest of your life, what would they be?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder. Secrets of the Beehive by David Sylvian and Moon Safari by Air.
Tomorrow would give a different answer!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which current songs\/albums are you listening to lately?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some old Brazillian stuff and my own new music as I am making another record<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your connection to Berlin and Club Gretchen in particular?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve never played Gretchen, looking forward to it! I love Berlin, I’ve been many times it’s a great city<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you give us an insight into what the Berlin audience can expect from your upcoming concert at Gretchen on March 4th?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full on Funk!! Lots of improvisation and upbeat space funk vibes. It’s not just for musos, everyone will enjoy so come on down!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Matt Johnson & Band live @ Gretchen.
Click here for details: https:\/\/gretchen-club.de\/detail.php?id=2714<\/mark><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sean Steinfeger w\/ Matt Johnson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[148,150,40,39,145,147,86,36],"class_list":["post-831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-interview","tag-funk","tag-groove","tag-interview","tag-jazz","tag-keys","tag-matt-johnson","tag-piano","tag-sean-steinfeger"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Gretchen","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/author\/pamela\/"},"yoast_head":"\nJazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8 - Gretchen's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jazz im Gretchen - the interview #8\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"a written interview format by Sean Steinfeger for the fans & the jazz community to get a deeper insight into the record labels and their artists. This time with Matt Johnson, the british keyboardist who plays for the funk & jazz band Jamiroquai.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gretchen's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T12:03:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-23T14:23:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gretchen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gretchen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/\",\"name\":\"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8 - Gretchen's Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-22T12:03:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-23T14:23:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fa6c324f3758dddddc7aa5632bdcc5bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Gretchen's Blog\",\"description\":\"All about Music.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fa6c324f3758dddddc7aa5632bdcc5bb\",\"name\":\"Gretchen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9344bd8706f308939ed85ee4e035db3a9381b11d109ab682be00f44503058354?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9344bd8706f308939ed85ee4e035db3a9381b11d109ab682be00f44503058354?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gretchen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/author\/pamela\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8 - Gretchen's Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Jazz im Gretchen - the interview #8","og_description":"a written interview format by Sean Steinfeger for the fans & the jazz community to get a deeper insight into the record labels and their artists. This time with Matt Johnson, the british keyboardist who plays for the funk & jazz band Jamiroquai.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/","og_site_name":"Gretchen's Blog","article_published_time":"2024-02-22T12:03:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-23T14:23:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gretchen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"Gretchen","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"5\u00a0Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/","name":"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8 - Gretchen's Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-22T12:03:56+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-23T14:23:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fa6c324f3758dddddc7aa5632bdcc5bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/mattjohnson.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/jazz-im-gretchen-the-interview-8\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Jazz im Gretchen. The Interview #8"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/","name":"Gretchen's Blog","description":"All about Music.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/fa6c324f3758dddddc7aa5632bdcc5bb","name":"Gretchen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de","@id":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9344bd8706f308939ed85ee4e035db3a9381b11d109ab682be00f44503058354?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9344bd8706f308939ed85ee4e035db3a9381b11d109ab682be00f44503058354?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gretchen"},"url":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/author\/pamela\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831\/revisions\/902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gretchen-club.de\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}