LESSONS
WITH MATT.
For every age and level, from a first year on the horn to working players getting ready for the next call.
Take one lesson to start, or come every week. Everything you need to know is below.
Lessons that build real skills and a lasting love of music.
Every idea gets played for you first, then you play it back until it's yours. We start from your sound and the music you want to make, and we work on what a bandstand will actually ask of you: time, listening, reading the room, and getting called back. For three years I ran the combos and coached the soloists at Hall High School in West Hartford, one of the country's top high school jazz programs.
Duffy Jackson was one of my first teachers, and Jimmy Cavallo became a mentor. I went to New World School of the Arts in Miami, spent a semester at Florida International University, and studied privately with Gary Campbell and Barry Harris. At The New School in New York I learned from Reggie Workman, Jane Ira Bloom, Junior Mance and Charli Persip.
The rest came on the bandstand, starting in New Orleans in the summer of 1997, playing daytime sets six days a week at the Gazebo. Since then: John Wick, Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau Band, the Mingus Big Band, Postmodern Jukebox and Dorrance Dance.
- 2003 to 2006Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra, New York
- 2016UMass Jazz in July
- 2021 to 2024William H. Hall High School: combo director, improvisation coach, arranger and recording engineer
- 2022 to 2026The Hartt School, University of Hartford: senior seminar, coaching student combos
- OngoingWilliam H. Hall High School, master classes and mentoring
How long is a lesson?
50 minutes, in person or online.
What should I bring?
Your horn, a few good reeds, and one thing you're working on: a tune, an étude or a solo you love.
How do online lessons work?
Zoom, with your horn about six feet from the laptop. Turn on Zoom's "original sound for musicians" so your tone comes through.
What if I need to cancel?
Please give at least 48 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule.
How do I pay?
Venmo or Zelle. I'll send the details when we set up your first lesson.
Ready when you are. Pick a first lesson time and we'll go from there.