Matt La Von doesn’t come from a musical lineage and no one has ever labeled him as a musical prodigy.  Born into a military family, his childhood was spent crisscrossing the mainland United States every 3 to 4 years and being pulled in and out of different schools. Despite this chaotic upbringing, music remained a constant in his life, and he went on to study at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia before making his permanent home in New York City. His journey in music, and in life, can best be summarized as a series of miscalculations, bone-headed decisions, and a few unavoidably unfortunate circumstances which threatened to derail any hopes of a career, throughout which he has stubbornly plowed forward, refusing to accept defeat.

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In many ways, that’s what Found is about—persistence, resilience, rebirth, and a return to a life of lesser complication. The bulk of the compositions on this album were written in the aftermath of a tumultuous time in Matt’s life when he nearly gave up being a musician. Ultimately, this record is an expression of thanks for a second chance and the ability to rediscover himself as a saxophonist, composer, and performer.

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As a young man (as is the case with many young musicians), Matt’s career was spent in an effort to be a composer of ear-bending and overly complex music. Found is an attempt to place more of an emphasis on intention, listenability, thoughtfulness, expression, and inspiration without the musical pyrotechnics. The compositions offer strong rhythmic and melodic themes that also serve as improvisational vehicles to be performed with a modern approach, harkening back to some of the great jazz composers like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson.

 

The album's title is also partially derived from the compositional approach of taking two to three already existing works, extracting small segments from each, and finding ways to mash them together to create new pieces—a musical similarity to the visual artist Marcel Duchamp’s “readymade” concept of taking unrelated found objects and placing them together to create new sculptures. Working this way, in a musical context, often requires the invention and insertion of brand new sections and interludes to complete the existing works. Many of the pieces that Matt has written in this way have been discarded as merely exercises, but a few moments did make it onto the album. Clues are hidden in the titles of some of the tracks.