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hailing from concord, new hampshire, matt is a newcomer to the tokyo jazz scene. originally playing piano at a young age, he switched to electric bass at the suggestion of his father at the age of 12. a developing passion for jazz soon would lead him to switch to the upright bass, which he now plays almost exclusively. in high school, matt was already in demand as a bassist, and soon found himself playing gigs with his teachers and musicians three times his age. his unique feel and ability to memorize tunes and play in any key were a valuable asset. matt attended the hartt school of music, where he studied with nat reeves and steve davis, and met raymond mcmorrin, a tenor saxophonist who now lives in the tokyo area. after school, matt moved to boston, where his ability to swing without a drummer helped him to thrive playing duo gigs with pianists, guitarist, and saxophonists. matt helped to create several jam sessions in the boston area, frequented by students from berklee and the new england conservatory. in the summer of 2009, matt moved to setagaya with his wife sarah. he hopes to find a home in tokyo’s vibrant jazz scene, and looks forward to meeting musicians who share his love of swing.

tunes

bernie’s tune - gerry mulligan

bewitched, bothered, and bewildered - richard rogers, lorenz hart

bluesette - toots thielemans

central park west -john coltrane

chelsea bridge - billy strayhorn

a child is born - thad jones

come sunday - duke ellington

con alma - dizzy gillespie

crystal silence - chick corea

darn that dream - jimmy van heusen, eddie delange

‘ deed I do - fred rose, walter hirsch

desert moonlight - lee morgan

django - john lewis

do nothing ‘til you hear from me - duke ellington

don’t let me be lonely tonight - james taylor

don’t worry ‘bout me - rube bloom, ted koehler

the duke - dave brubeck

easy living - ralph reigner, leo robin

emily - johnny mandel, johnny mercer

for all we know - sam lewis, fred coots

funkallero - bill evans

gone with the wind - allie wrubel, herb magidson

grooveyard - carl perkins

grove’s groove - steve davis

here’s that rainy day - jimmy van heusen, johnny burke

honeysuckle rose - fats waller

i don’t stand a ghost of a chance with you - victor young, ned washington, bing crosby

if i had you - irving king, ted shapiro

i’ll be seeing you - sammy fain, irving kahal

i’m old fashioned - jerome kern, johnny mercer

(just a) ballad for woody - maxine shaw

lady be good - george gershwin

lament - j.j. johnson

like someone in love - jimmy van heusen, johnny burke

limehouse blues - douglas furber, phillip braham

line for lyons - gerry mulligan

little sunflower - freddie hubbard

lover man - jimmy davis, roger ramirez, james sherman

memories of you - eubie blake, andy razaf

moonlight in vermont - john blackburn, karl suessdorf

more than you know - vincent youmans, billy rose

my foolish heart - victor young, ned washington

my melancholy baby - ernie burnett, george norton

nancy (with the laughing face) - jimmy van heusen, phil silvers

the nearness of you - hoagy carmichael, ned washington

peace - horace silver

question and answer - pat metheny

remember - irving berlin

scrapple from the apple - charlie parker

seven come eleven - charlie christian, benny goodman

skylark - hoagy carmichael

stardust - hoagy carmichael

the slowdown - steve davis

spain - chick corea

stolen moments - oliver nelson

tangerine - johnny mercer

that old feeling - sammy fein, lew brown

these foolish things (remind me of you) - harry link, holt marvel, jack strachey

they say it’s spring - marty clark, haymes

the two lonely people - bill evans

what are you doing the rest of your life? - michel legrand

you look good to me - clement wells

wendy - paul desmond

here’s a list of most of matt’s favorite tunes that usually fall “under the radar” - anywhere from a little off the beaten path to completely and entirely obscure. most of these aren’t the kinds of things you’d call out at a jam session...

matt’s main bass is a christopher 403 3/4 fully carved bass, which he recently purchased to compliment his  czech-ease road bass, designed by david gage in new york. matt uses the phil jones bass briefcase amplifier, a small but powerful amp which provides rich, full bass sound without compromise and makes using public transit manageable. matt uses velvet garbo strings - a synthetic gut string with an amazing “old-school” sound.