Matt Ridley is a freelance double bassist, bass guitarist, educator, and jazz composer/bandleader based in London, UK. He has a performing career spanning more than 2 decades, with 5 releases to his name. The eponymous debut album with his latest project, ‘The Antidote’, topped the polls in the UK and received glowing reviews from coveted music publications around the globe. After the release of the follow-up EP ‘The Antidote Reloaded’, a full-length live album ‘The Antidote: Live At The London Jazz Festival’ is scheduled for release on 20/10/23.
Matt has been a familiar presence in the UK jazz scene for 17 years, during which time he has performed and collaborated with an extremely broad range of artists. He cut his teeth playing with UK luminaries such as Pete King, Don Weller, and Michael Garrick, and since 2006 he has been touring the UK and abroad with Darius Brubeck’s quartet featuring Dave O’Higgins. He worked extensively with Ant Law in his quintet and ‘Art of Rhythm’ trio (feat. Asaf Sirkis), prior to the formation of ‘The Antidote’. In broader terms, Ridley has worked with a wide range of musicians at the vanguard of their movement including Tim Garland, Nikki Iles, Gary Husband, Leon Foster-Thomas, Troy Miller, Jim Mullen, Soweto Kinch, 'Hexagonal', Gilad Atzmon, Ivo Neame, and many more. He performs frequently at international jazz festivals with Mulatu Astatke.
As a band leader, Matt released his debut album ‘Thymos’ on Whirlwind Recordings in 2013. Featuring the talents of award-winning pianist John Turville, drummer George Hart, and guest appearances from saxophonist Jason Yarde, oud maestro Attab Haddad, and percussionist Vasilis Sirikis, the album represents a substantial artistic statement of both compositional and improvisational chutzpah. Matt's follow-up album, 'Mettā', was released in February 2016. Building on the melodic, rhythmically inventive style of 'Thymos', and with Jason Yarde now a core member of the group, the album received 4-star reviews across the board. The quartet performed at jazz clubs and festivals across the UK and was hailed as 'One of Britain's very finest contemporary quartets' (Jazzviews).
In 2019, Matt formed a new band, 'The Antidote', a quintet featuring Alex Hitchcock (sax), Ant Law (guitar), Tom Hewson (piano) and Marc Michel (drums). The music bridges the divide between contemporary jazz, classical, and progressive rock. The eponymous album was released on Ubuntu Music in July 2021 to rave reviews in coveted music publications at home and abroad; Downbeat Magazine**** (U.S.), BBC Music Magazine****, Jazzwise****, Presto Music 'recording of the week', Jazzmania (Belgium) Ivan Rod***** (Denmark). The album was shortlisted for numerous 'best of' lists including '20 Best Jazz Albums of 2021' by Jazzwise, and received a nomination for Best Album in the 2022 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.
From 2011-2016, Matt also led the 'MJQ Celebration'. A band 'inherited' from the late Michael Garrick MBE, the band featured award-winning vibraphonist Jim Hart, pianist Barry Green, and Steve Brown on drums. The group toured the UK many times and the eponymous CD (produced by Ridley), received glowing reviews and was described by the London Jazz Blog as ‘an enormously entertaining project, already leaping on top of an early 'best of 2014' pile'.
Matt has enjoyed a performing career outside jazz, particularly in Tango, World Music, and Folk, and has a notable long-standing collaboration with award-winning singer-songwriter Sam Carter, with whom he has recorded 4 studio albums and a live EP.
