Matt Smiley

Matt Smiley has been playing double bass for seven years, studying with JMU professor Sam Cross during his high school and undergraduate studies. He has taught private lessons on guitar, electric bass, percussion, and double bass, while being a bass teacher/counselor for several years at James Madison University’s Spring String thing. Matt has also been a jazz clinician and performer with the Dave Pope Trio. Since high school he has been performing in various musical groups, gigging regularly in classical chamber ensembles, gospel, rock, bluegrass, and wind ensembles. He has performed internationally at the Montreux, North Sea and Montreal Jazz festivals as well as premièring John Hillard’s 2nd piano concerto at the Kennedy Center. While in his undergraduate studies at James Madison University Matt has been playing several nights a week in Virginia, DC and in Maryland. He also has recorded and mixed an album of one of his groups, the Matt Coyle Quartet, using the studio at James Madison. Upon graduating, Matt has relocated to Greeley, CO where he will be getting a master's degree in Jazz studies studying under Erik Applegate, while freelancing. Matt has peformed with Dave Pope, Paul Ellison, Jovino Santos Neto, Aashish Khan, Salar Nader, Andre Leroux, Remi Bolduc, Lalo Davila, Bob McChesney, Chuck Dotas, Gregory Yasinitsky, Andy Connell, Vincent DiMartino, Mark Whetzel, Marlon Foster, Jeff Decker, Hod o' Brien, Stephanie Nakasian, Dick Oates, and Carsten Schmidt.