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.
