Ancestral Blues

Biography

Ancestral Blues is an ongoing conceptual music project by Sil Matadin and Jimmy Rage in which musicians from different backgrounds and disciplines come together. It seeks to pay homage to all the ancestors of Jazz music. It’s also a meditation on Blues music as it gave roots to Jazz. The Blues is the music of the soul: an expression of happiness and sadness intertwined. We celebrate Jazz for its revolutionary spirit and remember those Jazz greats, known and unknown, that reshaped the musical landscape. To play Jazz in the 21stcentury is to carry on the legacy of social activism. Like gospel music, this is an act of dedication to the power of music itself. On November 13th, 2018 Ancestral Blues brought American Jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp and his music to church: Hofkerk in Amsterdam. Ancestral Blues starring Archie Shepp headlined the Super-Sonic Jazz festival and was in praise of this living Jazz legend, as it is a long overdue honor.