Matt White

Dr. Matthew White is an Assistant Professor of Music at Coastal Carolina University. White holds a BM in Jazz Studies from the University of North Florida and an MMA and DMA in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Miami Frost School of Music.

From 2004 through 2012, White was active as an educator and freelance musician in South Florida and Nashville, appearing on a number of recordings as a trumpeter, writer, and producer and backing numerous artists and ensembles. White was the featured soloist with the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Duffy Jackson Big Band, the South Florida Jazz Orchestra, the Gene Krupa Big Band, numerous orchestras, musicals, pop ensembles, and artists as diverse as: Bob Mintzer, Wycliffe Gordon, Kevin Mahogany, Arturo Sandoval, Rihanna, Paul Anka, Bruce Hornsby, Brian Setzer, Brad Paisley, Oscar DeLeon, Melinda Dolittle, and others in addition to leading his own ensemble, the Super Villain Jazz Band. He has appeared on live radio broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, The Country Music Christmas Television Special, The Mavericks’ In Time PBS Special, and numerous major label recordings for commercial artists and corporations. White won Downbeat Student Music Awards in Best Jazz Soloist, Best Arrangement, and Best Original Song categories. In 2009 he was invited as an American jazz trumpet representative for the International Association of Schools of Jazz conference in Lucern, Switzerland and was a member of Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead residency in 2004. He has received recognition on NPR's All Things Considered, The Washington Post, and various musical publications.

In 2011, White published his dissertation research on Visualization in Jazz Improvisation, which was the first academic work to explore the connections between visual imagery, jazz improvisation, and musical perception among prominent improvisers.

In 2013, White released his first album as a leader, The Super Villian Jazz Band, on the Artists Recording Collective Label. Russ Musto of the New York Jazz Review and Downbeat said, “It heralds the arrival of a new major voice in jazz, one whose name belongs in the pantheon of its true heroes.”

Currently, White is working on a joint research project with Dr. Eric Crawford, “The St. Helena Island Spiritual Project,” which was selected as the initiative for CCU’s Edwards College Athenaeum Experiential Press. The Project focuses on the Spirituals and Culture of the Gullah people and will be presented as an Interactive Experience, Songbook, and various media projects.

Gear

NY Bach Trumpet Patrick Mouthpieces

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