Episode 137. Matt Combs: Musical Overtones, Playing with the Universe & Fifty Years of Clown School

Matt Combs is a composer, arranger, producer, author, educator, and Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist whose work bridges American roots music, orchestral composition, and film and television scoring.

Since arriving in Nashville in 1997, Combs has worked extensively in the studio under producers including Dan Auerbach, T Bone Burnett, Don Was, Buddy Miller, John Carter Cash, John Osborne, Matt Sweeney, Butch Walker, Alison Brown, Dave Ferguson, Ian Fitchuk, Daniel Tashian, Jordan Lehning, Pat Sansone, Misa Arriaga, Beau Bedford, and Gerry Beckley.

He has provided string arrangements and performances for legendary and contemporary artists including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Kacey Musgraves, The Black Keys, Sturgill Simpson, Brothers Osborne, Yola, Marcus King, Wilco, Ashley McBryde, Stephen Sanchez, and CeeLo Green. Combs spent three seasons as a musician on ABC's Nashville, has served as a house band member for the CMA and ACM Awards, and worked in the Grand Ole Opry staff band, backing artists including Vince Gill and Charlie Pride. He has toured extensively with Reba McEntire, Ray Price, Patty Loveless, Jerry Douglas, Mike Snider, Maura O'Connell, and Wynonna Judd.

A prolific contributor to film, television, and video game music, Combs' work can be heard on releases including Yellowstone, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Menu, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The West, Old Henry, Color Out of Space, Horizon, and Famous for Killing Each Other: Music from and Inspired by Hatfields & McCoys.

Combs is also a producer and curator, leading projects including Pa's Fiddle: Music from Little House on the Prairie, John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project Vol. 1, and recordings by Diana Jones and Taylor Brashears. In 2018, he co-authored John Hartford's Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes, working directly with the Hartford estate to curate and transcribe 176 compositions from more than 1,000 handwritten tunes in Hartford's personal journals.

Combs earned a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from the University of Michigan under Paul Kantor. Deeply committed to education, he teaches at camps, universities, and public programs, sharing both technical expertise and the history of American fiddle music.

www.mattcombs.com

https://combsmatt.bandcamp.com/album/fifty-years-of-clown-school

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4E5CVA3tAALpUH7Zi3dAj9?si=X5FyWCaASk6alFSWYgLmqA