Matthew Sheens - Written in the Dark (2023) [Hi-Res]

On what was meant to be the last day of a visit home to Australia, I was involved in a bike crash which left my left leg and right hand broken. In the four months I spent learning how to play music and walk again, the thematic material for Written in the Dark began to form. During my convalescence, I forced my (unbroken) left hand to play in all registers of the piano, which unexpectedly expanded my compositional approach. While in hotel quarantine in Sydney during the 2020 Pandemic, I consolidated these ideas into a ten-part through-composed piece. With less reverence for traditional jazz structures and more interest in sustaining ideas over long periods of time, I endeavoured to leave plenty of room for the entire quartet to leave their mark on what ended up being somewhat of a technically demanding weird dream.

Matthew Sheens: Piano/ Composition
Hugh Stuckey: Guitar
Matt Penman: Bass
Kenneth Salters: Drums