Born: May 30, 1985 Primary Instrument: Bass
Matt Smiley is a bassist and composer currently living in Fort Collins Colorado. He has performed in a variety of musical situations including classical music, gospel, rock, funk, bluegrass, jazz, free improvisation, and 20th/21st century music. Smiley has performed internationally at the Montreux, North Sea and Montreal Jazz festivals and premièred John Hilliard’s 2nd Piano Concerto at the Kennedy Center. Smiley relocated from Virginia to Colorado where he received a master's degree in music with an emphasis in jazz studies at the University of Northern Colorado. While at UNC Smiley won the UNC Jazz Composer’s Award for an original composition titled “Double Quartet.” In Colorado Smiley performs funk music with the band Soul Proprietor, and jazz music with The Mark Sloniker Trio/Quartet, and Square Peg, and is currently performing three nights a week with the Subterranean Jazz Trio/Quartet. He has also performed with Wil Swindler’s Elevenet and Downbeat award winning UNC Jazz Lab Band One. Matt Smiley has performed with David Pope, Paul Ellison, Jovino Santos Neto, Aashish Khan, Andre Leroux, Remi Bolduc, Lalo Davila, Bob McChesney, Vincent DiMartino, Hod O' Brien, Dick Oates, Jim White, Dana Landry, Steve Herberman, Dennis Wilson and Bob Hallahan. Smiley has worked with UNC’s Open Space Music Festival in Greeley Colorado to help organize and perform with John Zorn’s “Cobra” conducted by Stephen Drury, Christian Wolff’s “Edges” with the composer performing, and playing free improvisation and silent film music with Jean Marc Montera and Raphael Imbert. Matt Smiley has studied bass with JMU professor Sam Cross, and UNC professors James Vaughn and Erik Applegate.
