Arts & Entertainment

Matt Garrison and ShapeShifter Lab pay it forward

March 28, 2013 Editorial Staff
Photo courtesy of Matt Garrison and Fortuna Sung.
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BY MEGHAN FARNSWORTH

To a casual observer, the ordinary-looking warehouse on a dead-end Brooklyn street that connects two larger roads – Carroll and 1st Streets – sits quiet with sleep and covered with graffiti. Once 8:30 p.m. hits, though, the space becomes the ShapeShifter Lab: a space alive with creativity, experimentalism, and open-mindedness. A type of tolerance is struck, and musicians, dancers, and visual artists come together to share their work and ideas without the fear of conforming.

That daily transformation and simultaneous existence in two worlds is somewhat symbolic of the Lab’s mission of being “the perfect mix between a small jazz club and a large theater, like one that is found at BAM,” said Matthew Garrison, co-owner and founder of the Lab and well-respected musician in his own right.

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Founded in 2012 at 18 Whitwell Place by Garrison and business partner Fortuna Sung, ShapeShifter  is a 4,200-square-foot physical manifestation of Garrison’s journey as an artist, or self-described “ShapeShifter.”

When Garrison, a world-touring electric bass player, decided that he wanted to do more than touring, he decided to create a performance venue, educational center and artistic incubator for musicians of all backgrounds and success levels.

Here, Garrison transforms his musicianship, using a blend of jazz, pop, funk, folk, and soul that demonstrates his belief that “music and art are about no boundaries.”

“I felt like an alien when I came back to New York after touring,” Garrison said about his 20 years of accompanying artists the likes of Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, and Joni Mitchell. “As I witnessed changes throughout Brooklyn, I sought to be a part of that.”

Garrison is the son of Jimmy Garrison, who played upright bass alongside jazz innovator John Coltrane. Raised around the fervor of 1970s artistic experimentalism in Soho, the younger Garrison witnessed artists and performers of all stripes immerse themselves in the avant-garde, breaking the boundary between art and life through intimate performances that brought the audience into the artist’s work.

ShapeShifter Lab was born out of that innate appreciation for the free-flowing communication of ideas and the freedom of artistic expression – an appreciation that crosses boundaries of geography and culture.

For Sung, the Lab is an attempt to recreate the vibrant creative atmosphere of her childhood home in Hong Kong, where her father was a preeminent filmmaker.

“My parents would give dinner parties where all kinds of artists came together and discussed ideas,” Sung said. “I wanted to continue that type of artistic setting.”

The Lab’s mission is to be a performance venue catering to the needs of artists, famous or unknown. It also serves as an educational resource for performers.

Speaking from experience, Garrison explained that “musicians who travel and perform around the globe as I do need a place where they can come together, hang out, and discuss stories and ideas.

“For musicians who are not so well-known, having a space to perform and fully conceptualize their ideas from beginning to end is crucial. These musicians have all that they need except for the basics of publicity and running a business. [The Lab] is here to show them how to do those things.”

“Like I have said to musicians before, if you have an idea, then Fortuna and I will make it happen,” Garrison said. “Anything goes here. What is important is that we are able to give artists the inspiration to create.”

Said Sung, “My father told me, ‘The most important thing in art is to be creative.’ What Matt and I are doing at ShapeShifter is just an extension of that: to avoid conformity and to continue art as a form of personal expression.”

Since opening in February of 2012, ShapeShifter Lab has been recognized as one of the best New York City jazz venues – alongside greats such as the Jazz Standard and the Cornelia Street Café – and is home to live nightly performances, art exhibits, private events, monthly residencies, and a full calendar of regular classes. Performers have included Ravi Coltrane, Grammy-winning folk artist Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Mark Giuliana, and Hadrian Feraud.

According to Garrison, one of the secrets to the space’s success is the fact that its home is Brooklyn.

“In Manhattan, the music scene is just saturated with competition,” Garrison said. “There is only room to think about business and not the artist. However, in Brooklyn, the ambiance is more chill, and musicians have the additional freedom to pursue their personal, creative aims.”

In addition to co-founding a successful business and creative space like the Lab, Garrison also created his own recording label and production company in 2000, called GarrisonJazz Productions, and continues to create his own music, releasing two CDs and a live performance DVD – including “Shapeshifter” in 2004 and “ShapeShifter Live 2010 Part I – Matthew Garrison solo.” Both were recorded before the Lab existed.

To listen to some of Garrison’s work and RSVP to upcoming events, visit www.shapeshifterlab.com and www.garrisonjazz.com.

Meghan Farnsworth is a freelance music journalist who has individually worked with the writers Alex Ross of the New Yorker, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post, John Rockwell of the New York Times, Heidi Waleson of the Wall Street Journal, and Greg Sandow of the Village Voice. She graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Musical Studies with an emphasis in music journalism and was a Writing Fellow in the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism. She can be reached at [email protected]. 


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