Jazz bassist Matthew Garrison doesn’t like to slow down. “I’m always thinking and doing,” he said.
As a performer, he has toured with Herbie Hancock, and has scheduled shows with pianist Jason Moran, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and more. However, most days he devotes himself to producing musical events. shapeshifter lab and its non-profit arm, Shapeshifter PlusI also made an app tune bendfacilitating virtual collaboration and recording between musicians.
The son of John Coltrane bassist Jimmy Garrison, Mr. Garrison likes to push the boundaries of jazz. “I’m really sick of the stagnant music scene where this club only books a certain type of band and that club only books musicians who play that genre,” he said.
For a decade, Garrison ran a performance space in Gowanus, Brooklyn, also known as Shapeshifter Labs, which closed last year. Soon he will open a new venue. “My new space will be a place for genius reject performers who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to perform in the city.”
Garrison, 52, lives in Park Slope with his business partner, Fortuna Sung, 51.
dark and quiet The post-pandemic times were volatile. It might sound scary, but sometimes I wake up at 4am. I write code for apps like Tunebend and organize things on my computer. No one calls, texts, or eavesdrops on you.
caffeinated nap You may have coffee and a light breakfast. Lately, I have had a strange relationship with coffee. It doesn’t wake me up. I now take coffee as a sleep aid. I don’t know how it works. So often I work for a few hours, have a cup of coffee, and then fall asleep again.
working weekend I wake up again at 9 or 10 am and have another cup of coffee. The music industry is his round the clock. I am in constant contact with people in Europe and Japan, so weekends are not my days off. To get it all done, he has to divide his workday and dedicate certain days to three ventures. On Sundays, I try to do what I couldn’t do on weekdays. But too much multitasking messes things up.
procedure Then I might compose for a few hours. Or take a stroll through Prospect Park or zigzag through the neighborhood streets. Sometimes I go out to Gowanus and Carroll Gardens. Fortuna says you’re walking too fast, but you need to get your heart rate up. My body needs it for me, she says.
song layer I listen to music on Tunebend while walking. I hear how every recorded fragment becomes a layer of a song. The same part can be replaced with another performer, so I listen to and arrange various things. But I’m working with the app as a user to see if any tweaks are needed. I know you don’t think so, but this is how I unzip.
connect When I’m writing code or making music, I’m solving problems. You are in continuous investigation mode to figure out why something is done a certain way. In the world of jazz, there are a lot of things that have to be done in a fraction of a second. Coding also needs to remember all these pieces to build something. The only difference between the two worlds is the salary!
news space I finally got the keys to the new performance space opening before the end of the year. So far, we’ve done live stream workshops on how to use the Tunebend app, and we’re gearing up to raise a lot of funding so we can host shows and events here for musicians of all types.
nutrition Run errands around the neighborhood, including groceries from Park Slope Food Co-op. Fortuna, whose family is from Hong Kong, is a good cook. Her family owned and operated many restaurants, so she knows how to use the kitchen. When we go out to eat, it may be Japanese food or Thai food.I had dinner with her mother today little neck.
old age time After dinner, I watch TV or read a book. I’m news-centric: I know how to make this world a better place because I have so much to catch up on. My mother still scolds me for all my reading being done on screen. 9:00 p.m. She’s in bed by 10:00.
Sunday Routine readers can follow Matthew Garrison on Instagram and Twitter at @garrisonjazz.