(310K JPEG)
(band leader, composer, scalloped fretboard guitar, Glissentar 11 string fretless guitar, electric guitar, flamenco guitar, mandolin, charango, sitar, gamelan)
Matthew Montfort is the leader of the world fusion music ensemble Ancient Future. An award-winning guitarist (Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, Colorado Outstanding Young Guitarist Award), he is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). Montfort spent three months in intensive study with vina master K.S. Subramanian in order to fully apply the South Indian gamaka (note-bending) techniques to the guitar. He is also known for his work on electric guitar, flamenco guitar, sitar, charango, mandolin, and gamelan, and as Ancient Future's main composer.
Matthew Montfort holds a B.A. in World Music and Composition and an M.A. in Arts and Media Technology from Antioch University. He has studied with the master musicians of many world music traditions, including sarangi master Ram Narayan, sarod master Ali Akbar Khan, mridangam master Guruvayoor Dorai, and gamelan director K.R.T. Wasitodipuro. He has recorded with legendary world music figures ranging from Bolivian panpipe master Gonzalo Vargas to tabla maestros Swapan Chaudhuri and Zakir Hussain. He has performed concerts world wide, including at the Festival Internacional de la Guitarra on the golden coast of Spain near Barcelona and the Mumbai Festival at the Gateway of India in Bombay.
Matthew Montfort is on the faculty of Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco, where he teaches music theory, all styles of guitar as well as rhythm classes based on his book on the rhythmic traditions of Africa, Bali, and India. He also teaches at his studio in San Rafael, California. Some of his students have gone on to promising music careers.
His official website is MatthewMontfort.Com.
MatthewMontfortGuitarPlayerMag.pdf (1.4 MB). This five page story from the December 2009 collectible commemorative Les Paul issue of Guitar Player Magazine includes a full page feature with a photo of Matthew Montfort superimposed over psychedelic artwork portraying Jimi Hendrix, an interview with Matthew Montfort about the scalloped fretboard guitar, Indian raga, and their relationship to the music of Jimi Hendrix, a video hosted by GuitarPlayer.Com of Matthew Montfort performing his 'Purple Raga' composition live at Ancient Future's 30th Anniversary Concert, and a lesson on GuitarPlayer.Com created by Matthew Montfort entitled "The Music of Jimi Hendrix Applied to Indian Raga," which explains the musical concepts behind the 'Purple Raga' track on 'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar.'
MediaMattMontfort.pdf (3.9 MB). This 65 page report features reviews and media placements for Matthew Montfort's debut 2009 release, 'Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar.'
"Montfort is a pioneer player of the scalloped fretboard guitar." --SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"This album reveals a thorough knowledge of Hindustani microtonal ornaments, transferred in ways that create one of the most distinctive guitar sounds in contemporary music. However, it also reveals a lifetime of exploration in world music, which can be immediately summoned in a flash of inspiration. When this level of mastery is reached, there is no need to rewrite. The first improvisation has the depth of a reworked composition."– Teed Rockwell, INDIA CURRENTS, March 2009
Soul Serenade (Montfort) 6:28 
(>audio). From Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar. (Ancient-Future.Com AF 2008). Pre-Release Signed CD- $24.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.
Amber (Montfort. 2:09) 
(lofi. Free MP3 excerpt: 0:28, 459K.) From Guitar Works. (Narada Lotus ND-61032) CD- $16.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.
I Mett Her in the Medowe, a and b (traditional, arr. Montfort. 5:31) (>audio. Available with free trial subscription at Planet Passion @ eMusic.com. ) Scottish lute melody from 1615. From Planet Passion. (Ancient-Future.Com AF-2001). CD/Gift Card, $17.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.
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Mattthew Montfort performs a Guitar-Sitar Jugalbandi with Pandit Habib Khan and Arshad Syed.
Mattthew Montfort performs 'Soul Serenade' from Seven Serenades for Scalloped Fretboard Guitar.
Matthew Montfort teaches privately at his studio in San Rafael, California. He is also on the faculty at Blue Bear School of Music and Zambaleta World Music and Dance School in San Francisco. For more information about private lessons, send an email to info@ancient-future.com or call 415-459-1892.
With Ancient Future:
Solo:
Producer and Sideman:
Sideman:
Facebook:
Matthew Montfort Fan Page
Myspace:
myspace.com/matthewmontfort
Email:
info@ancient-future.com 
