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Matt Dwonszyk
Born in Hartford, CT, Dwonszyk started playing the electric bass at age eleven. His journey into the world of jazz began at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School where he began playing the upright bass. He also started attending the Artists Collective after school program playing in the Youth Jazz Orchestra. The Artist Collective, founded by jazz saxophone legend Jackie McLean, propelled Dwonszyk to continue his studies at the The Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at The University of Hartford.
Dwonszyk quickly developed an exceptionally strong rapport with Professor Nat Reeves and Professor Steve Davis. Reeves instilled a strong sense of swing, conviction and vocabulary upon Dwonszyk while Davis would hire Dwonszyk for gigs at local venues around the Hartford area. This schooling inside and outside of the classroom helped Dwonszyk become one of the top call bassist in Connecticut.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies in 2013, Dwonszyk went on to obtain a Master’s of Music at SUNY Purchase College in New York where he studied with Professor's Todd Coolman, Doug Weiss, John Faddis and John Abercrombie. With the SUNY Purchase Big Band, Dwonszyk performed at the Blue Note featuring Terell Stafford and at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola featuring Steve Turee. Dwonszyk would soon become a resident of Brooklyn, NY performing in some of New York's top jazz venues including Smalls, Smoke, Minton’s, Zinc Bar, Birdland and the Jazz Standard.
In 2015, Dwonszyk was accepted into the Bosyie Lowery Jazz Living Residency for his original compositions and was awarded in Down Beat Magazine for his arrangement of the jazz classic, “What A Wonderful World”. In 2018, Dwonszyk went on to record his debut record as a leader, entitled "Wonderful World", featuring the awarded arrangement as well as nine of his original compositions. He continues to perform and record with his group the "Dwonztet".
In 2018, Dwonszyk toured through Russia apart of the Rainy Days Jazz Festival and in 2019 he toured through Canada with the Oleg Butman Trio. His last tour was in 2020 with Jonathan Barber and Vision Ahead through the West Coast of the U.S. Dwonszyk has performed at many well known festivals including the NYC Winter Jazz Festival, BRIC Jazz festival, Clifford Brown Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, the Jazz & Colors Festival at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, D.C Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Saskatoon Jazz Festival, Edmonton Jazz Festival, Litchfield Jazz Festival, Hartford Jazz Festival, Hartford Baby Grand Jazz Series, New Haven Jazz Festival and the Baikal Jazz Festival in Yakutsk, Siberia.
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Julieta Eugenio: Stay
by Dan McClenaghan
Argentina-born saxophonist Julieta Eugenio takes four breaths ("Breaths" I through IV), that she calls short, intimate moments," in her ongoing endeavors in this (mostly) trio-format album. The saxophone, bass and drums setup is one of the most intimate. Think Sonny Rollins in Way Out West (Contemporary, 1957) and A Night At The Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958), a pair of uncluttered, groundbreaking, chordless outings that stand up as classics of the format. Eugenio has proven herself marvelously ...
read moreJulieta Eugenio: Jump
by Hrayr Attarian
Listening to saxophonist Julieta Eugenio on the engaging Jump it is hard to believe this is only her debut. Her confident playing, warm, brassy tone and intelligent, spontaneous ideas belie her relative youth. Eugenio penned most of the music on Jump, so the release also showcases her superlative compositional skills. The poetic, loose-knit originals are perfectly suited to a trio with ample room for both individual expressions and collective performances. The taut and intriguing Efes" opens the album ...
read moreJulieta Eugenio: Jump
by Dan McClenaghan
Aspiring jazz artists who pull up roots and make the jump" to New York City have a lot of backbone. The uncertainty involved in the attempt to elbow into a hyper competitive situation which can boost a career must make for sleepless nights. For non-Americans, dealing with culture shock and struggling with the English language, things are even more challenging. But, in 2013, saxophonist Julieta Eugenio was undeterred, leaving her home in Argentina to make the pilgrimage that thousands have ...
read moreJonathan Barber & Vision Ahead: Legacy Holder
by Dan Bilawsky
Drummer Jonathan Barber's Legacy Holder is a musical missive acknowledging the history that flows before and beyond his time, the ethos of the present, and a need to bind these streams into a single/singular statement or groundwork for himself and those who will follow. It is an album built on intellect, understanding, intuition and, perhaps most importantly, respectfor culture, curiosity, a capacity to love and do what's right, and the need to change. Leading Vision Aheadan aptly ...
read moreSeasoned Bassist Matt Dwonszyk Releases 'A Year And A Day' on July 1Notes By Steve Davis
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Scott Thompson Public Relations
Matt Dwonszyk is an accomplished bassist, composer, arranger and educator from Rocky Hill, CT. Dwonszyk graduated from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz studying under his mentor and world-renowned bassist, Nat Reeves and then went on to receive his Masters degree from SUNY Purchase College. Based in Brooklyn, NY since 2015, Dwonszyk still frequents back home to Connecticut to perform and teach. Throughout his career, Dwonszyk has performed and recorded with numerous contemporaries as well as legendary jazz artists including ...
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Photos
Music
Remote (WPAA TV Session)
From: Public Access: WPAA TV SessionBy Matt Dwonszyk
Peaceful World
From: A Year And A DayBy Matt Dwonszyk
Tessellations
From: TessellationsBy Matt Dwonszyk