Jordan Macarus - Heart Of The Matter CD. "The latest album by the latest incarnation of Jordan Macarus is both his edgiest and "poppiest" release to date. In this collection of 12 songs, Macarus reaches out to his cult-like faithful followers and a younger generation that may not be familiar with his soul full of angst and regeneration. Some things are strikingly different from this set of tunes. Macarus touches the lower registers of Robbie Robertson and Gordon Lightfoot, which may be the result of age and years singing in the mid-range. There are hints of Toad the Wet Sprocket for the 90's crowd. And a little bit of Umphrey's-like changes for the millennials and festival-goers. For those that need their Jordan fix of mind-bending solos, there's plenty of that. But also some cuts with acoustic guitars, nylon strings, and no leads at all (WHAT ??). Macarus is the type of guitarist that makes most of us players uncomfortable....if only because he is so good. There are times the changes are so fast and so surprising that you wish he'd give us 8-12 bars of a Hotel California-like or Aqualung solo, just so you can play it over and over in your head. Nonetheless, there is a pretty neat mix of Macarus' influences (metal, jazz, folk, blues, Irish, and Native American) here, and several that are on the edge of anthems that have the opportunity to bring some unlikely demographic groups together for some heavy thought and a rockin' good time." - Michael Tobias

Guitarist, Songwriter Jordan Macarus began his music recording adventures in 1978 with the hard rock band Winterhawk. The 1982 release, “Revival” has since reached cult status among melodic hard rock fans across the globe: - "Simply one of the greatest guitar-oriented hard rock albums of all time... Jordan Macarus can be really proud of his stunning abilities in guitar playing (and composing as well). " - Just Real Diamonds blog. Winterhawk has performed in Greece, Germany, and many concert venues, including Chicago’s Riviera Theatre and The Aragon Ballroom. They’ve taken the stage with Jefferson Starship, Pat Traverse, Budgie, Steppenwolf and Black Oak Arkansas to name just a few...

Beyond the Winterhawk story is the Jordan Macarus story. Branching out beyond hard rock, he has also written from the bass guitar, drums, acoustic guitar, piano, and the lyric. His eighth full-length recording, “Heart of the Matter” incorporates all of these approaches, with a clear emphasis on articulating each of the songs. He is joined on this dynamic project with stellar performances by bassist Geoffrey Lowe and drummer Larry Ortega. This record was produced by Jordan Macarus, Christine Tobias and Winterhawk “Revival” Producer Craig Williams.

Jordan Macarus: Guitars, Vocals, Piano on tracks 4 and 12
Larry Ortega: Drums and Percussion, Synthesizer on track 11
Geoffrey Lowe: Bass Guitar, recording chordal guitars for track 11, and digital editing on several songs.
Craig Williams: Keys on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9
Julie Macarus: Vocals on track 5, Violin and Viola on tracks 1 and 12
Chelsea Hood: Vocals on track 5 and 8
Isaiah Webb: Synthesizer and Piano on track 9
David Tobias: Rhythm Guitar on track 1