How It All Began

I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. It was here in the beautiful pacific Northwest that I began my life-long relationship with the piano.

My father was an early computer pioneer with Boeing; he spent a lot of time with Univac when computers occupied entire buildings. My mother was the church choir director and a sometime voice teacher. Church attendance was mandatory in our family until the end of high school. I got around that by playing music for the church service, singing in the choir and playing with the little kids in the nursery.

I have an older brother and a younger sister and we were required to take piano lessons for three years starting at age 6. After my three years were complete, I quit for a year and then started again voluntarily.

By the time I was in high school I was a fairly accomplished classical pianist. As you can imagine if you remember junior high school, doing 'girlie' things like playing classical piano is not good for the social standing.

Two people who really influenced me and helped me make it through high school were my Creative Writing/English teacher, Barthe Greimes and my Crafts teacher, Gordon Harkinson. I was editor and contributor to a school poetry publication. I learned to weave, throw pots, in general to see beauty and write about it. This influence has stayed with me throughout my life; in the places I choose to live, the music I listen to, and the music I create. I graduated on June 4, 1971--the day I turned 17.

My years of piano instruction varied quite a bit, from a chain-smoking music store owner in a tiny practice room in downtown Edmonds, WA to lessons with several great teachers from the Cornish School of Fine Arts in Seattle, including Paula Otten-Smith, Dick Smith, Greg Short and Lochrem Johnson.

The 70s

When I was 16 years old I wanted to take jazz piano, but my teachers wanted me to play Bach first as background. I eventually moved on to folk-rock, learning on my own. I started hanging out with some friends from the art classes and through them I met a couple of guys who played guitar. I got an el-cheapo guitar and started learning some songs.

The first song we learned as a group was Crosby, Stills & Nash’s "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and I switched my radio from classical to the pop stations. At the end of high school, we started a band called Gopher Broke that played country swing and country rock. As recently as 1999, I went back north and played with Gopher Broke. It was good to reconnect with old friends, learn some new songs and remember old ones. I've kept my Rock & Roll roots and vocal abilities on the back-burner for the last several years while working on the solo piano repertoire. It's always fun to take that out and dust it off again.

The day after graduation I moved to a Christian commune in Bellingham, Washington that had a "Jesus rock" band. I only stayed there two months and then moved to a tent on my parents’ property in a remote section of the Washington coast. We had gone to this area EVERY school vacation for many years and I had worked summers in a resort there as a dishwasher since I was 14. This time I worked in shake mills for the next eight years and played music as much as I could. Many of my friends followed me to that area, as well. I built my first house on my parents' land when I was 19.

I moved up and down the southwest part of the Olympic Peninsula for the next eight years, always keeping a job in a mill and sometimes working two jobs and a lot of weekends. I also played in several bands and did solo shows. I met my first wife in Aberdeen, Washington. We had my darling daughter, Kalista, in 1976. We then moved to Hawaii.

Ahh, Hawaii - sultry air thick with the scents of myriad fragrant flowers. Relaxation and natural beauty beckon at every turn. Poverty was everywhere, but like the good hippies we were, we went on welfare. We camped on my wife's sisters' land and eventually began house-sitting in various places. We finally found my dream - a caretake-in-exchange-for-rent opportunity high up Mauna Loa in Honaunau, South Kona.

My marriage broke up and I became a single dad. I did odd jobs and played a lot of music. By the time Kalista was in kindergarten, I was practicing five hours a day and playing a lot of nights. Kalista spent a lot of time at gigs with me. We'd make her a nest in the car and she would sleep while I was working - hell of a life for a kid. I was fairly devastated by the turn of events, but during this time I also had a huge creative outburst. In addition to lots of sad songs, I also wrote 'Mountainside' and 'Can't Keep My Mind On Business', which recently made it onto my Redwood Reflections CD.

In mid-1983, I packed it all up again and moved to Humboldt County.

Interlude--Bridge to the 80s

It's been all over the news in recent weeks--'Scientists have discovered that the brains of professional musicians are wired differently than the rest of us.' I could have told them that. I think it extends well beyond the ability to hear symphonies in our heads. We tend to look at things a little differently than the mainstream and to live our lives at somewhat of a tangent to the general flow of the river of life around us.

As some of the crazy dreamer dies, and some of the muse gets back-burnered, emerging from the chrysalis of what is, by now, a fairly wounded individual comes a reconciliation with things that cannot be changed and a new empowerment of this package of unique abilities and experiences.

Once in Humboldt County, I decided to go south to Garberville. These were pretty good times. Our neighborhood was an old ranch that had been subdivided into 60 acre parcels near the Mendocino County line. Most of our neighbors were family types. There were lots of kids around and we did carpools to the school bus. We started a little Ranch Band--with myself and a guitar player from a neighboring farm. Kalista had come back to live with me after having lived with her mother for a short time.

It was at a party here that I met Diane. Shortly after our initial meeting, Diane came to visit. I was already making plans to move to Arcata and attend Humboldt State University the coming fall.

For my first year-and-a-half in Garberville I was without a piano, having left mine in Hawaii. I played a lot of guitar. This is when 'Love Games', a guitar/vocal ballad, was written. Right before she left for Girl Scout Camp, Diane showed up on my birthday with a piano in the back of her truck. We rounded up the usual suspects and rolled the piano into my house. Our band suddenly had keyboards! Having a piano again after so much time off led to a musical renaissance of sorts for me. I got back into practicing a lot and making a few attempts at writing Rock and Roll, Blues and Folk Rock. My first gig in Humboldt County was New Years Eve at the Branding Iron Saloon in Garberville. Fourth of July parties on the Ranch we would throw the piano on a flatbed and drive it to the party for an instant bandstand.

Before the summer was over, I had found a place in Arcata and invited Diane to live with us. I waited for someone to come take care of the farm, packed up my stuff yet again and moved to Arcata.

Kalista was in 4th grade. Diane got a job teaching in Ferndale and I started school, attending Humboldt State University as a piano major. I got a gig playing with Donna Landry at the Grand Opening of the Eagle House in Eureka. Then I started playing occasionally at Youngbergs, a local drinking establishment. I started working with a blind flute player named Tony Dering. We worked together for about a year before he moved on down to Monterey.

I practiced a lot. I was taking private classical piano at the college, in addition to music theory and other challenging music classes. I had to sit through endless hours of opera in Music History. (I'm not at all fond of opera music; I like the stage productions, though) I played with Earl Thomas doing some straight ahead Blues. Having fronted most of the bands I worked with up to this point, this was the beginning of my experiences accompanying other singers.

In my second year of college I got a job playing rock & roll in the Rathskeller at the Eureka Inn. Jim Martin, long time piano player upstairs in the Palm Lounge died and I moved upstairs. I bought all the sheet music I could get my hands on and learned as many standards as I could. This was a time of great musical change for me. I found I could enjoy a wider variety of music when I was crafting piano arrangements than when I was trying to sing. I kept a filing cabinet full of music in the Palm Lounge so I could accommodate requests. I learned a lot of great tunes that way.

I used a student loan to buy a Mac+ in 1985--when they were the newest thing--and used a database to index all the music I had. I got very good at sight-reading requests and, in doing so, built the solo piano repertoire I use today. Many of the songs I hung onto came from the number of requests I got for them. Most requested song--'Send In The Clowns'.

In the mid 80's, HSU offered an Arts Management program. I enrolled in it as my minor. This gave me an opportunity to take things like Accounting, Business Management, Museum and Gallery Operations, Theater Tech and Public Relations. Most musicians have no business skills whatsoever, but I found myself reasonably adept. The plum for me was a two-year Internship with Center Arts as an Administrative Assistant. It offered great experience booking acts, designing a season, publicity, advertising and writing grants. Through work-study programs, I had the opportunity to teach piano and accompany vocal jazz groups and voice classes. That led to meeting and working with some musical greats such as Bobby McFerrin and Carl Anderson, not to mention the opportunities that came up for workshops and classes with brilliant classical pianists.

By 1989, I was working six nights a week at the Eureka Inn and Diane, who I married in 1987, was fully tenured at Ferndale Elementary School. My son Kaimana was born April 22, 1990 - his mother's 35th birthday and also Earth Day. We went to the HSU Library and looked in Hawaiian-English Dictionaries to find his name. It is the word for "diamond," a rock that sparkles like water. Had he been a girl, her name would have been Arianna, which is now the name of my production company.
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Interlude: A Guitar Story

I mentioned that I had an el-cheapo guitar in high school. The fates were going to align to make sure that I had a good instrument to play.

In 1971, while living in a pole-and-plastic tent-like structure nestled in virgin Western Red Cedar on a 200-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Peter Frothingham, my guitar mentor from Gopher Broke who's name you will find in the credits on "Another Piece Of Me," came to live with me. He had a beautiful 1963 Martin D-18 Guitar and, after lots of lessons and practice time, could really play. At a riverbar party one night on the Clearwater River we had unveiled some well-practiced versions of tunes. At the end of the evening my guitar was run over by a GTO.

Pete had wanted to buy a new Martin and the GTO driver was so filled with remorse, he bought Peter's old guitar for me for $150. Peter was able to get his new guitar and all was well. Peter has regretted selling that old Martin ever since. That guitar is still with me; it's what you hear on "Another Piece Of Me". It has been dragged to outdoor events and beaches all over the West Coast and in Hawaii.

Many a fine afternoon on the Big Island, when it would start raining up the hill, my music partner Ukiah and I would take our guitars down to the nude beach and bang away for the appreciative nudists. This guitar was my only musical outlet for a long period while I was living in Garberville without a piano.

Now, in the summers when I am playing five or six nights a week at Benbow, I often camp at Benbow Lake with just my guitar to keep me company. Only recently have I kept up playing it in the winter. In late fall 2002, my wife-at-the-time had this guitar's’ neck reset as a gift to me. It has made a tremendous improvement in the instrument.

The 90s

I was working steadily at the Eureka Inn, doing a lot of booking for them as well as playing. We had been developing a major Christmastime Promotion with different themes each year of which music was a large part. I performed with a lot of local musicians and singers as well as reintroducing vocals to my act.

We bought a house in 1990 and I spent most of that year ripping it apart and remodeling everything. I learned a great deal about cabinetry and finish work. Over the next 15 years I developed a great deal of skill in cabinet making, creating beautiful, functional rooms for this house. Most of this cabinetry was made from Red Oak but my office/studio was a wonderful space made from Cherry.

In 1992. I recorded my first album "The Sounding Joy" as part of that years’ Christmas Celebration with the same title. In 1993 and 1994, I worked on my arrangements and recording techniques and had a completed album "Redwood Box" by the end of 1994. This collection contained some of my best arrangements of the most requested songs. This one was followed by "Storm Warning" in 1995. This album had songs that were special to me, rather than audience-driven choices. "No Frontiers" and "Storm Warning" are still two of my favorite piano tunes to play. Both are very understated, beautiful and emotional pieces.

That year, I took my piano stylings to the Benbow Inn. I also bought a synthesizer and reacquainted myself with rock & roll. I did a few performances as The Digital Project and then hooked up with Bishop Mayfield for a couple of years. Bishop had been performing with many different bands in Humboldt County for 20 years. This was somewhat of a departure for both of us as far as musical style goes. We did an eclectic mix of standards and funk that was really quite excellent and enjoyable.

In 1996 I released "By Request," an album of solo piano pieces for which my audiences had been asking. Most of these were arrangements I hadn’t wanted to release. I didn’t feel like I added anything new to the material, which wasn’t the case with my previous or subsequent albums. The year 1997, saw the release of my first album containing original songs. Titled "El Cuervo," this collection included the title track, co-written with my son, and "Mountainside." This would be the last release of solo piano material recorded at the Eureka Inn. Also this year, the Mayfield Cook Project released an album titled "In The Air Tonight." This project had a great mix of standards pulled from my piano repertoire, such as 'What A Difference A Day Makes' and 'Georgia', combined with some things pulled from Bishop's repertoire such as Bill Withers' 'Who Is He And What Is He To You', 'Try A Little Tenderness' and Phil Collins' song, 'In The Air Tonight'. I also sang a cover of Robbie Robertsons' 'Out Of The Blue.

Over the next couple years I worked on an album of my original rock & roll -- this has never been completed, but various versions exist. With all my work on my solo piano repertoire, this project keeps coming up and then getting moved to the back-burner for lack of time. I was also working on expanding my solo piano repertoire, as well as reconnecting with my old friend Peter Frothingham in Washington. Peter is an excellent songwriter and I’ve adapted several of his songs for my use. 'Roll On Big River' and 'Just Enough To Get By' are two of my favorites.

During this time, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had long been encouraging me to record an album of Scott Joplin pieces. When I found out he was dying I did just that for him, writing one similar piece called "Benson’s Soliloquy." He was able to enjoy this recording for the last year of his life.

I also began working in Festival Management to supplement my income and broaden my horizons. I worked as the Director of the North Country Fair in Arcata, California and The Summer Arts Fair and Winter Arts Faire, programs of Garberville’s Mateel Community Center. I became Volunteer Coordinator for Reggae On The River, Humboldt County’s largest annual music event.

In late 1999 and early 2000, I recorded several albums of solo piano material, including an hour of originals at Spencer Brewer’s Laughing Coyote Studios in Redwood Valley, California. The Benbow Inn used some of this material for "Songs Of The Century," given to guests on New Years’ Eve. I began working on "Redwood Reflections," my first release of all-original material. Many of these pieces have been with me for a long time, changing over the years, and it's difficult for me to determine when they are really 'done' enough to release a recording of them. I'm quite pleased with the result. I expected to have this done in the summer of 2000, but that was not to be.

2000 Onward

In the Spring of 2000, I was stricken with Lyme Disease. While I had debilitating symptoms beginning in March, it was not properly diagnosed until mid-July, when I was paralyzed and hospitalized. This was a life-changing situation that affected my ability to play and create for a long time. For the better part of two years, Lyme Disease sapped much of my energy and took away my ability to follow a train of thought for very long. It wasn't until 2002, that my playing recovered and began to improve again.

I finally released "Redwood Reflections" in the summer of 2001, and recorded a collection of guitar/vocal demos in the fall of that year. The year 2002, saw the release of "Stormy Weather,"a mellow collection of some great solo piano cover tunes.

Technology has come a long way since my first releases on cassette, so I re-mastered my earlier albums with the help of Tim Gray at Myrtletown Studios in Eureka. These had all been originally released as cassettes with 45 minutes of material on each. During this process, "Redwood Box" was combined with a few songs from "El Cuervo" to create "The Rose And Other Love Songs."

"Storm Warning" was combined with some other songs from "El Cuervo" and the result, "Summertime." "By Request" was re-mastered and re-released as is. I also began working on some piano/vocal demos.

Early in 2003, I returned to Laughing Coyote Studios to finish recordings for a more up-tempo album that I see as a sort of companion to "Stormy Weather." After that recording session, I still wasn't happy with the way the album was coming together. I returned to the studio twice in 2004, and again in January 2005.

This album, titled "Moondance," was released in February, 2005. In the process of all this, I ended up with songs that went together beautifully for yet another CD, "Over The Rainbow". I expect this will be my last album of solo piano covers. With Moondance and Over The Rainbow, I feel as if I've completed a journey through a wide range of solo piano repertoire. My attention is turning more toward original material and vocals. I've really missed singing all these years, and have really enjoyed the opportunities I've had to perform with vocals. My penchant for eclectic song selection provides a unique performance in this genre as well.

In the Spring of 2004, I started experimenting with video with an interest in making a DVD. I recorded my piano performances at the Benbow Inn for many nights, as well as a lot of footage of beautiful places in the Redwoods. I started learning how to use a lot of software to edit the video and sync up the video with the soundtrack. I had an early version of the DVD by late summer. What had started as a creative idea and a 'Let's see what happens' sort of thing was turning into a wonderful project. This first attempt at a new art form was coming out much better than I had expected. I sent a copy to my friend, Barry Keyes who works with film in L.A., and got some very helpful ideas to improve this product.

In June of 2004, I attended my first Music Strategies Conference and met Tim Sweeney for the first time. A consultant and friend to independent artists, Tim has shown me some very good ideas about promoting my art. Through several more conferences and mentoring sessions I regained some confidence in my ability to get the message in my art heard, experienced, and appreciated. The conferences all involve a performance for the other artists. Inevitably, they are held someplace without an available piano. So I dusted off the guitar and started practicing and writing with that instrument for these occasions.

Fall, 2004, I hit a speed-bump in the road of my life which resulted in some big changes--yet again. I moved out of my house and started on the road to another divorce. By January 2005, I had found an apartment and spent a couple months moving, sorting through stuff, and building cabinets to organize my new life. In January I also started playing piano at the Sunset Restaurant in Trinidad, CA. Another big change for me, I ended up leaving the Benbow Inn and playing at the Sunset Restaurant for the rest of 2005.

In late December I wrote 'Echoes Of The Past' as a kind of solo piano way to get at some of the emotions I was living with. This was a very healing thing for me, helping me to deal with it and move on.

I returned to the studio in January, 2005. I had been using recordings of the Benbow Inn piano for my DVD project. While that 5' Yamaha is great for the space they have at Benbow, it really is not up to recording quality. I recorded a new soundtrack for the DVD, included 'Echoes' on it, and added a couple more songs for Moondance and Over The Rainbow.

By mid-February I was moved in enough to get back to work on music projects. First on the list was Moondance. I finally had all the recordings to make this album fit my artistic needs and I finished it fairly quickly. I started shooting more video--this time of beaches and other beautiful places here in Humboldt County and working with the new DVD sountrack. I had a beautiful DVD finished by late May. Samples of this project are here.

Also in February I wrote a great song for guitar/vocal called 'Another Piece Of Me'. This song was a way of healing from the changes I'd just been through and moving on to the next part of my life. I've posted the lyrics here.

In June 2005, Tim Sweeney suggested I get a guitar/vocal album done ASAP. I spent the summer working on that and released 'Another Piece Of Me' in October. This album reflected, in so many ways, the changes I was going through in my life and was a great project for me. The music was finished on August 31st when I went to Capitol Records in Los Angeles to master it. I wrote something about that experience that you can read here. I got the paperwork and manufacturing done in time for an October release.

The Sunset Restaurant doesn't have an actual piano. There has been a lot of talk about buying one, but I began the year playing my Ensoniq KT-88 electronic keyboard. I've never been happy with this as a solo piano instrument and in July I bought a Yamaha P-90 Electric Piano that does the job much more satisfactorily.

In November I got around to finishing up 'Over The Rainbow'. I had quite a lot of unreleased recordings to choose from -- and this may be my best collection of covers yet. I also took the time to reorganize this website! Finally!

The past year has seen great changes and great strides forward for me artistically. As 2005 winds up I'm working on my guitar/vocal, piano/vocal performances with an eye on some gigs in that genre in the coming months. With the new keyboard and my guitar I am a very portable act these days.

My personal life has changed greatly this past year as well. In March I rented a house with my kelly girl, who features prominently in the last two verses of Another Piece Of Me, and we are happily cohabiting in a decent rental house in Eureka, CA. Unlike my last house, I've been making desks and cabinets that we can take with us eventually, and I finally got the mattress off the floor with a beautiful oak bed.

While 2005 has been filled with challenges on every level, it has all been good. I expect the coming year to be calmer on the domestic front and just as challenging on the artistic front.

I wait with all of you to see what comes next.
--Matthew Cook
-----11-17-05

To view Matthew's current performance schedule and to see if he is available for bookings, click here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Call Matthew at 707-826-2919

Write to Matthew at:
Arianna Recording
P.O. Box 5180
Arcata, CA 95518