A fingerstyle guitarist who freely merges jazz, classical, Spanish and even the blues into a very unique and identifiable style.

13 MP3 Songs
NEW AGE: New Age, JAZZ: Free Jazz



Details:
When explaining guitarist Matt Richards' solo guitar style, the most often-mentioned word jazz will be combined with classical, Spanish, modern acoustic, New Age  in fact, each term describes a different aspect of Matt's musical identity.

Growing up in the culturally fertile cross-currents of the 1960s, Matt's musical pathway begins with the mix of folk, rock and psychedelic music that defined that decade. Eventually drawn into the electronic-laden jazz-rock of the 1970s, Matt began developing the technically advanced skill and musical abilities demanded by those styles. As his talent grew, Matt was drawn into straight-ahead jazz, classical and world music.

As a soloist, Matt has been featured in the film Smoke And Mirrors and on the Philadelphia-produced television series Puerto Rican Panorama. He has played at the CoreStates and Mellon Jazz Festivals, the Naturist Society's Eastern and Midwestern Gatherings, National AIDS Awareness Day, SUNOCO's Welcome America celebrations, the Kimmel Regional Arts Center and numerous clubs and venues. Matt has performed duets with guitarists Larry Coryell, Emiliano Pardo-Tristan and Sam Gorelik, violinist Joyell Washington and bassist Bill Zola, among others. Matt is also a founding member of the all-acoustic Guitar Trio East.

As a sideman, Matt is featured on gospel vocalist Paul Middleton's CD Keep The Faith (1995) and rock/alternative artist Nate Hawk's Nathaniel Hawk (1994). Matt has worked in live performances with a broad range of artists, including vocalists Essra Mohawk (Change Of Heart) and Julie Holtzman, bassist Starr Cullars (P-Funk), Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble, saxophonists Bobby Zankel and Steve Oliver, pianists Elio Villafranca and John Conahan, organists Joey DeFrancesco and Herbie Nix, drummers Mike Clark (Herbie Hancock), Kenwood Dennard (Sting), Marlon Simon (Hilton Ruiz) and Adrian Velosin and percussionists Cafe and Pablo Batista (Grover Washington).

Matt is Head of Faculty at the FrankfordStyle School for Creative Arts and a faculty member at Spring Lake Farm Arts and Cheltenham Art & Music. In conjunction with his performances, Matt frequently conducts workshops and master classes.

Currently, Matt has artist endorsements with Godin Guitars, Wechter Guitars, EMG Pickups, John Pearse Strings and Led Classical Strings of Spain.

In the Spring of 2000, Matt released his first solo CD "In This Single Moment" on his own FingerMusic label. The CD has earned comparisons to the works of guitarists Pierre Bensusan and Ralph Towner. Matt plans to release his next recording "Dayside" in late 2002.