The Rediscovered: Matthew Von Doran

Matthew Von Doran

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Pursuing His First Love

A music industry veteran, guitarist Matthew Von Doran has done just about everything to make a living. But now, with the release of his CD, In This Present Moment, he has taken some giant steps towards spending the bulk of his time as a performing and recording jazz artist. With a lifetime of guitar playing under his belt, you might imagine his playing to be tight, his chops fluent, and his solo explorations motivic, ambitious and soulful - and you'd be right on all three counts. In This Present Moment features ten instrumental tracks in the jazz and jazz/fusion vein, and showcase the work of additional musicians such as bassist Jimmy Haslip (who also produced the CD), keyboardist Larry Goldings and drummer Peter Erskine, among others. This is a well-recorded, excellently performed CD that is highly recommended to fans of jazz and smooth jazz alike. Matthew Von Doran was originally profiled in the October-November, 2004 edition of The Undiscovered.

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Born in Germany in 1960, Matthew grew up in Washington D.C., and Canada before the family finally settled in the Manhattan Beach area of Los Angeles County. He began playing guitar at age 15 and by the time he got to college, in 1978, he started checking out jazz. Matthew eventually enrolled at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in 1980 and remained there for a year. Through the '80s, he made a living playing guitar in strictly non-jazz settings while still maintaining his love of jazz. In 1986, Matthew joined the Don Miller big band, which offered him an outlet for playing jazz while also providing him with a steady source of income for the next 16 years.

A few years ago, Von Doran began playing in a fusion cover band called New Trio of Doom (a sly insider reference to the Jaco Pastorius-John McLaughlin-Tony Williams Trio of Doom from the late '70s). He changed the name of the group to the Matthew Von Doran Trio a year ago and has been pursuing a career as a jazz artist ever since.

Contact Information

Michael Bloom Media Relations
United States

Web site: www.matthewvondoran.com