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No Sound Left Behind

Matt Lavelle: Writer & Musician

  • Tales from the Front
  • New York City Subway Drama and Beyond
  • The Nitty Gritty
  • Words are the Notes of the Human Being

Deeper Reality: The Matt Lavelle Interview

October 5, 2017 By Matt Lavelle

Here at No Sound Left Behind, we have a special guest ladies and gentlemen. The first time I heard him play was at Pine Tree Elementary in 1978, when he took a solo during a concert when none was planned. Calamity ensued as his band director Mr.Napoli feared he would lose control of an ensemble […]

Filed Under: Deeper Reality, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Facebook Live and Beyond

August 6, 2017 By Matt Lavelle

Sleep deprivation or insomnia affects people in different, and personal ways. During my sleep process, I have endured sleep apnea since the late 80’s. My version as of late is my body forcing me awake to breathe several times a night as I ride a perpetual roller coaster of sorts between lucid dreams and the […]

Filed Under: Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Low Barometer, Farewell Brother Bern Nix

June 5, 2017 By Matt Lavelle

One path through grief is to play music. Another one is to write. I have been called here to the page once more in an attempt to capture and hold onto that speck of light in the dark. The sun has been hiding behind the clouds this past week, and with good reason. Perhaps she […]

Filed Under: Deeper Reality, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

A force for good, the astrology of John Coltrane

May 23, 2017 By Matt Lavelle

The first time I felt a genuine connection between my soul and music was given to me by John Coltrane. In my early 20’s while working the night shift at a supermarket, I found myself with nights off, being wide awake while the rest of the world was in slumber. One hot summer evening I […]

Filed Under: Deeper Reality, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Free at last, the astrology of Albert Ayler and beyond

May 16, 2017 By Matt Lavelle

The Coltrane Tone Circle is now being researched as an example of the relationship between jazz and physics, music and geometry, and beyond. Now 50 years after his transition, we’re finally reaching a place where we can start to look into the areas Coltrane was driven to explore, as he attempted to make eye contact […]

Filed Under: Deeper Reality, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Natural Music

December 11, 2016 By Matt Lavelle

The other day at my trumpet bar in midtown NYC I was playing Miles live at the Plugged Nickel when another musician stopped by, and informed me that Miles was done after Someday My Prince Will Come. After a moment of shock and disbelief, I wanted to hear why, but all he would say was […]

Filed Under: Deeper Reality, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Every Note Counts

October 15, 2016 By Matt Lavelle

  A few hours ago here in Astoria Queens, some cops were handing out flyers to people getting off the subway. A white guy with tattoos on his fingers got in my way as I walked in front of the cops, and asked me for a swipe right in front of them. “If you want […]

Filed Under: New York City Subway Drama and Beyond, Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Take Back the World

July 10, 2016 By Matt Lavelle

  Back in 1957 Governor of Arkansas Orval E. Faubus sent the national guard to prevent integration of Little Rock High School. Everybody involved in jazz knows that Charles Mingus responded with his classic Fables of Faubus, where he turns Faubus into the focus of ridicule for his twisted and racist act. Columbia Records refused […]

Filed Under: Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Transition

May 18, 2016 By Matt Lavelle

  These are strange days for people who see life entirely through the lens of jazz and improvisation. Many musicians like myself might feel like we were born at the wrong time. While a select group of musicians has been able to create lives where they can focus all their energy on their music, another […]

Filed Under: Tales from the Front, The Nitty Gritty

Jazz and the quest for truth

May 3, 2016 By Matt Lavelle

  So when President Obama was ten years old in 1971, he got to spend a month with his father, whom he said he rarely saw. His father took him to see his first jazz concert. Dave Brubeck. Now in 2016 he just hosted an International jazz day at the White House, which he renamed […]

Filed Under: The Nitty Gritty

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