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Matt Greenwood

With melody as the guiding star, guitarist and composer Matt Greenwood creates cinematic musical landscapes where composition and improvisation intersect. Having first lived in Zimbabwe and then Canada and now the United States Matt’s music is inherently nomadic and pushes against the confines of genre and geography. 

Matt has had an extensive career as a sideman, having performed and recorded with legendary Zimbabwean artists including Oliver Mtukudzi, Gemma Griffiths, Forward Kwenda and Vee Mukarati as well some of Canada’s most acclaimed jazz musicians such as Robi Botos, Mark Kelso, Brian Dickinson and Mike Downes.

Matt has been passionate about composing from early on in his musical development, and has scored a number of short films. Most notably, he scored the award-winning animated short ‘Blue Bird’ which was featured at film festivals including but not limited to Cinequest, Atlanta Film Festival, New York Film Festival and New Media Film Festival.

Growing up in Zimbabwe meant access to music education and equipment itself was extremely limited, but the country’s rich musical heritage and culture was an influential experience for Matt. Here in Boston, Matt still stays connected to Zimbabwe’s music through playing and studying the Mbira, a traditional African instrument. Since leaving home, Matt has earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from Humber College in Toronto and a Master’s Degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute.

As a band leader, Matt's debut album ‘Atlas’ was released in January 2023 receiving critical acclaim from Downbeat Magazine, The WholeNote, Jazz Life and countless other publications. Matt's sophomore album 'Daybreak' will be released on March 20th 2026.


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12
Album Review

Christopher Parnis: Everything You Could Be

Read "Everything You Could Be" reviewed by Neil Duggan


There cannot be too many jazz albums that find inspiration from as broad a spectrum as NASA's Mars rover missions and the horror novels of Clive Barker. Throw in some Kenny Wheeler influences and you have Everything You Could Be, the debut album from Canadian bassist Christopher Parnis. Parnis has been involved as a bandleader and sideman in the Canadian jazz circuit for many years. At the same time, he has also been gathering a quintet to perform ...

7
Album Review

Dhaivat Jani PLUS: Sum//Parts

Read "Sum//Parts" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Drummer Dhaivat Jani's Sum//Parts can be described as a world stew of sounds, a colorful gumbo stirred up from Indian classical influences, jazz and rock. An immigrant to Canada from his native Ahmedabad, India, Jani draws his “beyond-music" influences from things which have happened in his everyday life--his migration from East to West, growing up in Canada, and the common and inevitable trials and tribulations which he has faced on his journey. This Canadian / Indian exotica sound ...

13
Album Review

Matt Greenwood: Atlas

Read "Atlas" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


There are a lot of jazz guitarists out there, and competence in the art of the guitar is common. Mature excellence is less so. But we expect that when we spin a CD. Matt Greenwood, born in Zimbabwe and now home-based in Canada, displays that rare-for-a-debut mature excellence on his axe-- and more importantly in his artistic vision--on his debut recording, Atlas. He lays his vision out with assured eloquence on an impressive guitar/piano/bass/drums affair. There is boldness ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Daybreak

Self Produced
2026

buy

Quarterlife

Independent
2024

buy

Atlas

Self Produced
2023

buy

Sum//Parts

Self Produced
2023

buy

Bridges to Nowhere

Independent
2021

buy

Beneath Balancing Boulders

From: Daybreak
By Matt Greenwood

D.D.Q.

From: Everything You Could Be
By Matt Greenwood

Day 21

From: Sum//Parts
By Matt Greenwood

Redemption

From: Atlas
By Matt Greenwood

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