TRITON Magazine Fall 2019 | Page 54

TEMPO
Photo : Andrew Paynter

THE JAZZ OF THE SURF

Triton twin brothers capture the SoCal sound .

BY JADE GRIFFIN ’ 03
IF YOU WANTED TO CAPTURE the sense
guitar and bass guitar , which he loops
of cool breezes , a warm sun and the
on top of each other for a rich and often
seafoam frenzy of a vast ocean , just
complex sound . Together , the music is
drop the needle onto any album by
rife with a colorful sense of rhythm ,
The Mattson 2 . This guitar-and-drums
improvisation and story . As they expand
duo , made up of identical twins Jared
the limits of jazz and infuse it with their
’ 11 and Jonathan Mattson ’ 11 , have
eclectic taste and varied influences ,
developed a distinct style of “ surf jazz ”
they are also inspiring younger
over the many years they ’ ve played
generations of listeners to appreciate
together , and the sound and feeling , as
the beauty and depth of the genre .
well as the brains behind it , have the
The Mattson 2 has earned a
unmistakable mark of UC San Diego .
devoted international following not
The two-piece group features
even a decade since graduating ,
Jonathan on drums and Jared on electric
topping the Billboard contemporary
jazz charts twice and producing a prodigious catalog of albums , including collaborations with other artists and homages that span from Japanese jazz to legends like John Coltrane .
The tall , blond-haired twins grew up just north of UC San Diego , in the beach town of Encinitas . Children of two artists , the Mattsons were introduced by their father to jazz greats like Lee Morgan and Art Blakey . As teens , the twins spent their free time together surfing , skateboarding and experimenting with the sounds of rock and punk , but kept jazz alive in their rotation , and a constant guide as they learned their instruments .
Reflecting on how their California upbringing shaped their sound , Jonathan muses , “ it ’ s more like a side effect of living here . We never actually listened to surf music ,” he says , “ but people think we make surf music , which is cool . I think it ’ s just
50 TRITON | FALL 2019