Trombone player Matt Benson has released his debut album, Sit Back Down Again. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
Matt has played trombone as a sideman since his first professional gig in 2010 and been in George Ezra's band since 2017.
He has also played with Bad Manners, The Pogues, Neil Hannon, Hot 8 Brass Band and Brian May amongst many others. He has played at Glastonbury, WOMAD, The Tonight Show, Jools Holland’s Hootenanny, The Royal Albert Hall, and The Brit Awards.
Matt’s career on trombone started in a strange and serendipitous way. In his own words. "My dad’s music shop was blown up during the Troubles in Belfast around 1994," he says.
"No one was hurt, but the shop was completely trashed, all except for a little student model trombone that was found under a pile of smoking rubble on the top floor. It was still in working order and, between you and me, I think the fire gave it something a bit special.
"My Da brought it home for me and we spent that evening cleaning it up in the kitchen sink. He taught me how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in C major that night."
After a long career playing trombone for other bands, Matt is now ready to move from the side of the stage to front and centre with the release of Sit Back Down Again.
Matt plays: 22 August, The Poppy Lane Sessions, Galway, 6 September, Black Box, Belfast with The New Leaves, 14 September: Connolly’s of Leap, Cork, 19 September, The Duncairn, Belfast, 20 September, Whelan's Upstairs, Dublin, 28 September, Dolans Upstairs, Limerick.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I spend a lot of time in the Donegal Gaeltacht and am learning to speak a little Irish. My first trombone, I have eight now, came from the rubble of an explosion in a Belfast music shop during The Troubles when I was only ten years old. I once sat opposite Michael Kiwanuka backstage at a festival and told him how good Michael Kiwanuka was… without realising it was him I was talking to! He was very polite cause he kept a straight face. It doesn’t always click when you meet someone in person, who they are, I guess haha! I cringe when I look back at it now though obviously.
How would you describe your music?
At its core it’s just storytelling. I’ve lived a lot of the themes explored in the songs so they’re like little autobiographies really. Or snapshots of moments in time. There’s a kind of cinematic fiction, with echoes of Tom Waits, Randy Newman and Dr. John through it. Those are my influences anyhow and I think you can tell that.
Who are your musical inspirations?
There are so many! My brother Peter gave me a Buddy Rich Big Band album, Mercy Mercy, Live at Caesars Palace, when I was about 11 years old and that changed my life forever. I would put one earbud up my sleeve and hide it in my hand so I could listen in class at school. I was always getting in trouble for it. Tom Waits is who I mostly get compared to for my songwriting and I’m always very happy with that. John Martyn was always a big one too, Solid Air in particular. Nina Simone has been a huge influence too; her powerful rawness and truthfulness was always something to stand in awe of. George Benson's album Sony Jazz Portrait was never off either, I could sing along with every solo on that when I was 15. Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, that crooner way of phrasing has crept into my delivery here and there. I’ve been in George Ezra’s band playing trombone and singing since 2017, and I know I’ve taken loads of influence from him.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Australian Pink Floyd was the first proper big gig I went to. In the Ulster Hall in Belfast. I remember closing my eyes and getting totally lost in the sound. It’s like a gently dissolved into a dream for the night. Unforgettable.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first one I ever bought myself was probably Now 32. That was the thing to do at the time. It was the ultimate Spotify playlist of its day I suppose. Me and my friend Paidi would sit in my room and sing along with our favourites. Belting out The Day We Caught The Train at the top of ours lungs. My poor mother. Although that may have been from Now 34 now I think of it. It’s not the coolest answer I could give you, but it’s the truth!
What’s your favourite song right now?
20 Million Things by Lowell George. My guitarist friend David Klinke showed me this album a while back and it’s still growing on me, it’s fantastic. Listen to it if you can.
Favourite lyric of all time?
This might be the hardest question possible to answer. There are just too many lines I love. But I’m gonna say Dylan, from Boots of Spanish Leather, because, well, he’s Dylan: "No, there’s nothin’ you can send me, my own true love. There’s nothin’ I wish to be ownin’. Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled. From across that lonesome ocean". It’s got a full story in there and whole world of emotion, and yet, it’s only one line. Bob Dylan always operated on another level.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Haha, what a cruel reality that would be?! Good question. Another really hard one. Blue In Green from Mile Davis’ Kind of Blue album. It’s a powerful track and is just full of emotion. It has John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and a really poignant piano solo from Bill Evans. Not to mention Miles doing what he does. It’s maybe not the best choice cause it’s not so upbeat but I guess I’m going for an uplifting melancholy vibe here. It’s deep enough so you can get lost in it and evokes a time and place in my life when I was extremely happy.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Spotify: Matt Benson (all the streaming platforms really). Instagram @mattbensonplaysmusic and my website.
Alan Corr
