NEWS: My new album, Jerusalem Trilogy, on Justin Time Records, is now officially released in the US! You can now get it on itunes, as well as in the few remaining stores that sell CDs, such as Bordersnd Barnes and Noble (most likely excluding Walmart though).  Here's the link for itunes in the US:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/jerusalem-trilogy/id371782713
Here's the link for Canadian itunes:
www.itunes.apple.com/ca/album/jerusalem-trilogy/id371782713

The New York launch of Jerusalem Trilogy will be on September 19th at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleeker St) at 10pm. We'll play all the music from Jerusalem Trilogy, plus a few of my crossover Schumann and Chopin arrangements, to honor their 200th birthdays this year. It'll be my trio (David Rozenblatt, drums, Mat Fieldes, bass) with special guests Lara St. John, violin, and David Gotay, cello. Tickets are $15. If you'd like to order tickets online, please click here.

Please visit the Press page to read all the latest reviews of Jerusalem Trilogy!

The album features my new compositions and arrangements. It's a return to the "pianist-composer-improviser" of the late 19th century, in a 21st century context. Recording it was an amazing experience, I feel it's something very special. The tracklist includes my composition Jerusalem Trilogy, a 20-minute work for piano, bass, drums, violin and cello; Polonaise Libanaise, a new composition for my trio plus soprano sax and flute (with a clin-d'oeil to Chopin's Polonaise in F# minor, op. 44); a new arrangement of Under Your White Starry Heaven for violin and cello with my trio; my arrangement of the classic French song Göttingen by Barbara, which features a bit of everone on the CD; a "heavy groove" piece for my trio called Crossbones; and finally, my arrangement of an insane étude by Prokofiev for my trio, which I call Prokofiev's Revenge! Joining my trio on the CD are Lara St. John, violin, Mike Block, cello, Daniel Schnyder, soprano sax and flute, and also the producer of the recording, and special guest Bassam Saba on the Nay, a kind of Persian flute, of which he's one of the few masters in the world.   

I've posted two new tracks from my new album, Jerusalem Trilogy, on the Media page, just as a little teaser. Prokofiev's Revenge is based on Prokofiev's Étude in C minor, op. 2 no. 3, a rarely played but incredibly exciting piece, which I arranged for the trio. It represents the kind of fusion of classical, jazz and middle-eastern grooves that marks the sound of this album. Polonaise Libanaise has a more traditional sounding middle-eastern vibe, with lots of melodic lines and harmonies snaking around over cool, sinuous bass lines. You can also hear some tracks on my Facebook page.
The Media page also has lots of live performances, as well as selections from my last solo album, Matt Herskowitz Plays George Gershwin.
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New review of my piano concerto Undertow just in! Please click here to read on the Press page
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Here's a video of myself and Daniel Schnyder performing my arrangement of Schumann's Toccata, op. 7 in New York City on February 3rd I thought I'd share with you:) Just click here to see it:

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New concert dates are starting to trickle in, so please check in periodically for those updates. Note: you can always find out about my next performance at the bottom of this page.
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Here's my promotional video, featuring a selection of trio and solo live performances:

To see new videos of my Montreal trio live at Upstairs Jazz Club, they're all up on my Myspace page.
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Matt Herskowitz Plays Gershwin nominated for a Prix Opus! It's nominated for best album in the category "Classical, Romantic, Post-romantic and Impressionist" - not a bad description of the disc! The awards ceremony is on January 25th in Montreal, so we'll know then if it's a winner. A big thanks as well to everyone who has come to my numerous Gershwin concerts these past several months. I've been touched by your beautiful comments on this recording. I recently recorded the same Gershwin program for Yamaha Disklavier; for those of you who don't own one these gadgets, it's a very fancy digital player piano that reproduces my performance with uncanny accuracy on your own piano. It's now available to download from Yamaha's online PianoSoft store - just go to their website and you'll find it. If you're interested in getting a copy of the CD version it's available online at CD Baby.

In The Swing of Christmas nominated for a Grammy! Yes, Barry's jazz Christmas album, which features myself and my trio, has been nominated in the category of best traditional pop album. It's a nice little Christmas gift for all of us - ya just never know!

Click here to see a video of me and Barry performing Winter Wonderland together on Access Hollywood:

In LA and Vegas with Barry Manilow

Season for change: Barry Manilow, with pianist Matt Herskowitz, has a new album, In the Swing of Christmas

(photo from USA Today, Nov 11, 2007)

MaD Fusion Blasts the Montréal Jazz Fest!
Our concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival on July 2nd was an enormous hit at the packed Salle Gésu! We performed our new MaD Gershwin show with special guests singer Coral Egan and bari sax specialist Charles Papasoff, which features our original arrangements of Gershwin's classic songs in various contemporary styles. The energy was sizzling throughout the evening, and it was definitely a highlight for us making our debut at the festival. We gave the European debut of this show at the Etnafest in Catania, Sicily this past May, which was also very enthusiasctically received by sold-out crowd.

"Reinvention" premier with Absolute Ensemble
I composed and performed a new piano concerto, called Undertow, with Absolute Ensemble this past September at the Bremen Musikfest in Germany. It was part of the Bach Reinvented program, in which five composers were commissioned to write original pieces based on a Bach Invention. Mine is based on (or inspired by) the three-part Invention no. 9 in F minor.  Here's a quote from a review of the show:
"Matt Herskowitz proved himself a highly energetic rhythmian, without comparison in his mastery of the piano... He could also conjure up absolutely lyrical moments of the compositional structure of his Bach Invention."

For info on my trio (formerly known as MaD Fusion) and to listen to our music, please give us a visit at: www.madfusionmusic.com