Born in England in 1946 as Ian Matthews MacDonald, he changed his name to Iain Matthews to distinguish himself from King Crimson singer Ian MacDonald and to emphasize his Celtic roots. Matthews is considered one of the most important English pop and folk musicians. He was a member of the Fairport Convention and scored a worldwide hit with his band Matthews Southern Comfort in 1970 with Joni Mitchell's
… Woodstock. In the almost forty years that followed, Matthews was active in many groups (including Plainsong) and as a singer / songwriter. He has been living in the Netherlands for several years. As a great jazz lover he came into contact with the Limburg jazz formation Searing Quartet. Matthews was so impressed that he made plans for a collaboration with Searing pianist Egbert Derix, with Joy Mining as a brilliant result. As OOR puts it: “Matthews is responsible for the ever intriguing lyrics, Derix for the compositions, while drummer Sjoerd Rutten, bassist Norbert Leurs, and saxophonist Peter Hermesdorf complete the transparent sound setting with his beautifully restrained playing. In addition, Matthews' velvet presentation comes into its own ”. (HB)more
