Lyrical flugelhorn artist, concert jazz bandleader, and composer of contemporary instrumental bossa novas and sambas.

•     Denise Jordan Finley, "Solstice" (2010)
          Alto flute, soprano sax, arranger
  
  
•     Barbara Martin, "Eyes on the Horizon" (2010)
            http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/BarbaraMartin
            Flugelhorn solo on Same Old World
  
  
•     Tomas Martin Lopez, "On the Beat Path" (2010)
            http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/TomasMartinLopez
            Trumpet, flugelhorn solos, soprano sax, arranger, composer (8 songs)
            (Julia, Blue Salsa, Susan, There You Are, A Love to Keep, Wake Up, Bahia Blues & Images of Rio)
  
  
•     Sharon Klein, "The Way Back Home" (2009)
            http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/SharonKlein
            Soprano sax solo, From This World to the Next; flugelhorn solo, Not Far Away
  
  
•     Denise Jordan Finley, "Hauntress" (2007)
            http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/djfinley2
            Flute, alto flute, soprano sax, trumpet, arranger
  
  
•     Matt Finley, "Brazilian Wish" (2006)
            http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mattfinley
            Flugelhorn, trumpet, composer (all 9 songs), arranger, executive producer
  
  

• Multi-instrumentalist Matt Finley has played professionally for 47 years and has performed and recorded with many of the finest jazz musicians in the world. He studied composition with Edgar Curtis, founding director of the Albany Symphony. A CD of Matt's compositions, "Brazilian Wish" has garnered international recognition, and two of his compositions were finalists at the Los Angeles Music Awards. He is featured on four CDs released in 2010. Matt is a retired professor of computer information systems and former dean of academic affairs at Dutchess Community College.

• Matt is a native of Lake George, New York. He graduated from Union College, where he led a combined Union/SUNY Albany/RPI Jazz Workshop to the finals of the American College Jazz Festival. Matt earned his master's degree from the College of Saint Rose and is permanently certified to teach music in New York State. He performed for many years with Grammy-winning baritone saxophonist Nick Brignola and was a featured trumpet soloist and arranger with the Albany Jazz Workshop, composed of the best professionals in New York's Capital District.

• At Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Matt holds the college record for teaching courses in the largest number of academic departments and still teaches as an adjunct lecturer. He also received the 1998 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service, the highest award bestowed by the State University of New York.

• For many years, Matt accomplished his goal of learning to play a new instrument every year to improve his composing and arranging abilities. Not only a multi-instrumentalist, he is in demand as a composer, arranger, sound engineer and studio sideman. Matt has served as guest clinician for the Dutchess County All-County High School Jazz Festival, and performed by his original compositions by invitation at the Temecula (California) International Jazz Festival. He is a long-time member of American Federation of Musicians Local 238 and is a principle user of the Music Performance Funds to promote live music in concert.

• Performance gear includes a Kanstul Signature 1525 flugelhorn, Calicchio 1s/9 trumpet, vintage Bach "Strad" 239S C trumpet with Blackburn #20 leadpipe, Schilke P5-4 piccolo trumpet, Yamaha 675 soprano sax, Powell soprano flute, Emerson alto flute, Jenco vibraphone, and a Selmer Mark VI tenor sax. Matt uses Warburton 4 brass mouthpieces with custom open throats and is a featured endorser on the Warburton website, GR trumpet mouthpieces, and Yanagisawa (soprano) and VanDoren (tenor) sax mouthpieces. Matt's picture is also featured the website for Kanstul Horns.

• Matt currently leads Rio JAZZ, a Brazilian jazz concert sextet he formed in 1988 featuring recording artists Peter Tomlinson, Jeff Ciampa, Mark Egan, Don Miller, Tomas Martin Lopez, Joel Rosenblatt and more than forty outstanding world-class jazz performers over the past twenty years. Matt has performed with Peter Einhorn (guitar) and Don Miller (acoustic bass) in smaller settings. Matt is also musical director for his wife, singer/songwriter Denise Jordan Finley for her large-scale projects. They live in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley and in Lake George.

• Matt's 2006 CD, "Brazilian Wish" on the Kingsmill Music label features his original jazz sambas and bossa novas, played by some of the best musicians in the world!

• Matt has performed with Nick Brignola, Kenny Blake, Brad Upton, Dave Holland, Glen Moore, Jack DeJohnette, Joel Rosenblatt, Mark Egan, Nigel Kennedy, Danny Gottlieb, Leo Traversa, Terry Silverlight and many other world-class musicians.

• Notable performance venues include the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Troy Music Hall, Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Poughkeepsie Civic Center, Sagamore Hotel, and others.

• Awards:

• #31 for Top 50 Jazz Albums of 2009, Cafe Jazz Radio (Canada)


• #45 for Top Jazz Artist of 2009, Cafe Jazz Radio (Canada)


• "Another Year" - Honourable Mention for Top 50 Songs of 2009, Cafe Jazz Radio (Canada)


• "Editor-recommended CD" in bossa category at CD Baby, 2008


• #2 most previewed CD on Hudson Valley Music.com (2006 - 2009); currently #3


• Winner, "Jazz Artist" category, 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards


• Second round judging, "There You Are", International Songwriting Competition (2007)


• Finalist in Jazz category for "When She's Gone" -17th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards (2007)


• Finalist in Jazz category for "Childhood Home" -17th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards (2007)


• "Top 50" jazz albums in Italy for Brazilian Wish (2007)


• Guest clinician, Dutchess County All-county Jazz Festival (2006)


• Performer, Temecula (CA) International Jazz Festival (2006)


• Featured on Oasis Jazz CD Volume VI (2006)


• Honorable Mention, "There You Are", Billboard Magazine 14th Annual World Songwriting Contest (2006)





• Trivia:

• Matt played piano in a Nick Brignola Quintet concert at the Troy Music Hall, one of America's finest sound stages.


• Matt sang and danced in the front line for Leonard Berstein's Mass during multiple productions in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley.


• He has covered the lead trumpet, flute, and bass books at the same time in a theater production of 'Mame', and performed both the lead trumpet and flute books for 'Bye Bye Bidie'.


• In various concerts over many years, he has played soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes; Latin percussion; vibes; flute; alto flute; oboe; French horn; mellophone; Mellophonium; alto horn; baritone horn; trumpet; piccolo trumpet; flugelhorn; tuba, and the Yamaha WX5 wind controller. It is probably easier to list the wind instruments he has NOT played in concert.