Matt Finley
Jazz Composer & Performer
Multi-instrumentalist Matt Finley has played professionally for nearly 50 years and has performed and recorded with many of the finest jazz musicians in the world. He studied composition with Edgar Curtis, Director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. 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.
Recent discography 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 top professionals in New York's Capital District. At Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York, Matt received the 1998 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service, the highest award bestowed by the State University of New York. He also holds the college record for teaching courses in the largest number of academic departments and occasionally teaches as an adjunct lecturer. 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, Shires C trumpet, 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 a Warburton 4 flugel mouthpiece and is a featured endorser on the Warburton website, GR 66M trumpet mouthpieces, and Yanagisawa (soprano) and VanDoren (tenor) sax mouthpieces. Matt's picture with his flugelhorn is also featured on 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, 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, Bill O'Connell, Kenny Blake, Brad Upton, Dave Holland, Glen Moore, Jack DeJohnette, Joel Rosenblatt, Mark Egan, Nigel Kennedy, Danny Gottlieb, Leo Traversa, Jeff Ciampa, Peter Tomlinson, Tomas Martin Lopez, Don Miller, Ruben Rodriguez, 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, The Falcon Arts Center, Zen Dog Cafe and others. Special credit goes to my late brother, Sherwood Finley, a phenomenal trumpet talent who taught me how to play and who sheparded a little brother into the world of jazz gigs. He is greatly missed. Awards: Trivia:
Discography
Biography