Jazz arranging · Fusion & Jazz-Funk
DavidMatthews
b. 1942 arranger · composer · orchestrator
Matthews's arranging style combined jazz sophistication with funk and R&B grooves.
- Predominant era
- Fusion & Jazz-Funk
- Lifespan
- b. 1942
- Signature
- iridescent color
Bio · 30 words
David Matthews was born in Sonora, Kentucky, and studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory. He emerged in the late 1960s as arranger for James Brown before becoming a leading fusion arranger.
01
Musical style
Sound DNA
Five shared dimensions make the arranger’s musical priorities visible at a glance.
Iridescent
Instrumental color leads the design.
Compact
Ideas arrive in tightly packed frames.
Layered
Registers work as distinct layers.
Ornate
Dense detail rewards close listening.
Elastic
The rhythmic feel expands and contracts.
02
Orchestration
At the
arranging desk
“Small Hours,” orchestrated in the style of David Matthews. Hear the parts, follow the score, and examine the decisions inside each chord.
Original miniature
Small Hours
8 bars · C major · 4/4 Straight eighths
A bright flute line is set against forceful horn unisons and an electric rhythm-section pulse. This eight-bar setting uses a syncopated electric-bass figure beneath flute.
Choose Play to hear the recorded ensemble.
The passage
Read what you hear
All parts at sounding pitch · middle C = C4 · eighth notes follow the selected feel. Select a bar to inspect or replay it.
Inside the ensemble
Listen by part
Combine Solo buttons to hear a voicing or a doubling. Mute removes a part from the mix.
Downloads include every part at concert pitch. MIDI includes the selected tempo and swing feel.
Bar 01 · I · tonic
Cmaj9
Compare the octave horn sound with the close chords that follow it.
Sounding pitches
High to low · muted parts are dimmed · note releases can leave a rest between attacks.
| Part | Pitch | Chord role |
|---|
From the arranging bookshelf Sebesky · Nestico
This original David Matthews study applies the books’ approach of examining voicings, registers and instrumental combinations. It illustrates one facet of the artist’s work in a reduced ensemble; it is not a transcription or a reproduction of a book example. The melody and eight-bar progression remain the same throughout the artist collection.
- Don Sebesky, The Contemporary Arranger: “Combining the Woodwinds,” printed pp. 69–70 (PDF pp. 78–79), compares balance at different registers. “Voicing the Strings,” beginning on printed p. 124 (PDF p. 133), discusses distributing string voices. “Combining Strings with Winds,” printed p. 155 (PDF p. 164), demonstrates how a flute changes the color and balance of a string line.
- Sammy Nestico, The Complete Arranger: “Close [Block] Voicing” and “Semi-Open Voicing,” printed p. 24 (PDF p. 26), contrast a compact moving saxophone block with a voice dropped an octave. The part scores and pitch inspector let you examine the spacing used in this artist’s study.
Each artist’s arrangement uses separately recorded parts, so Solo and Mute reveal the same performance heard in the full ensemble. Winds, piano and supported orchestral instruments use MuseSounds; upright bass uses Karoryfer recordings. Other colors retain the credited libraries below. Tempo changes preserve concert pitch.
Performances rendered with free MuseSounds and the libraries below. Recording credits and instrument coverage.
Recordings: VSCO 2 CE (CC0), MTG Solo Saxophones (CC BY 4.0), and Karoryfer Meatbass (CC0). Additional sounds: FluidR3 GM (CC BY 3.0). Full credits and sample changes.
03
Music first
Scores & orchestras
Switch recordings to compare how this arranger’s musical priorities shape each orchestral profile.
Thrust
Thrust
Matthews's arrangements helped define Hancock's fusion sound.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
Dune · 1977
Dune
Leading his own big band, Matthews's arrangements showcase his full range.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Profile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata
Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata
Matthews's arrangements for Barbieri incorporate Latin elements with fusion.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
04
Start here
Three essential albums
One line each—enough context to choose the next listen.
- 01 — ThrustHerbie Hancock Matthews's arrangements helped define Hancock's fusion sound.
- 02 1977 DuneDavid Matthews Leading his own big band, Matthews's arrangements showcase his full range.
- 03 — Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano ZapataGato Barbieri Matthews's arrangements for Barbieri incorporate Latin elements with fusion.
Voicing & register
At the section’s first attack (beat 1), the voicing is: Trumpet E5 (3); Tenor sax E5 (3); Trombone E4 (3); Baritone sax E4 (3). Bass path: C2–G2–C2–G2.
Timbral combination
The section follows the tune in unisons and octaves. Harmony is left to the accompanying instruments. Electric guitar · answer rests here, leaving the lead color exposed.
Voice leading & harmony
The opening E is the third. G–A–G makes the sixth a brief neighbor before the melody lands on D, the ninth.