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Matthew Parrish
About Me
Matthew Parrish has performed and recorded with many of the top names in jazz. His
beautiful, warm
and complex sound has earned him an impressive reputation in the music community. You
can find
Matthew at venues all over the world. This past October Matthew was invited to be a part
of the Paris
JVC Jazz Festival where he was a featured artist. Just take a look at the performance info
page to see
where Matt will be next.
Traveling with his parents most of his formative years, Matt developed a wide appreciation
for culture
and arts. Born in Fresno, California, Matt finally settled in New Jersey for high school. This
lead to Matt's
tenure at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. From there Matt moved to Philadelphia
where his
music studies really began at Ortliebs Jazz Haus . A few nights here and there turned into
a year of
playing almost every night. Matthew considers himself an East Coast player, having
learned how to
really play jazz in Philly.
At Ortliebs, Matt played with Mickey Roker & Shirley Scott. As a trio they backed everyone
from Cecil
Payne, Johnny Coles, and Sylvia Simms to Danny Turner. Soon Matthew was partnered with
Bobby
Durham and the late Al Grey. While on tour with Al Grey, Matt performed with Clark Terry,
Marion
McPartland, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lou Donaldson, Joe Cohn, Savion Glover, Bill Charlap and
many others.
After several years of touring in the US and overseas with the great Al Grey, Matt toured
with the bands
of Stefon Harris, Greg Osby and Jon Jang & James Newton. During that period, Matthew
also fine-tuned
his arranging and composing talents for himself and a variety of clients.
Presently, Matt enjoys touring with the Regina Carter Quintet and pianist Dave Leonhardt’s
group. Matt
also continues to perfect his arrangements and compositions � a true passion for this
musician.