Matt Richards

When explaining Matt Richards' guitar style, the most often-mentioned word jazz will be combined with classical, Spanish, modern acoustic in fact, each term describes a different aspect of Matts musical identity.Growing up in the culturally fertile cross-currents of the 1960s, Matts musical pathway begins with the mix of folk, rock and psychedelic music that defined that decade. Eventually drawn into the electronic-laden jazz-rock of the 1970s, Matt began developing the technically advanced skill and musical abilities demanded by those styles. As his talent grew, Matt was drawn into straight-ahead jazz, classical and world music, playing acoustic guitars and a fretless guitar more frequently.As a soloist, Matt has been featured on the television series Miles of Music with Bob Miles, on the Philadelphia-produced television series Puerto Rican Panorama and in the film Smoke And Mirrors. He has performed at the CoreStates and Mellon Jazz Festivals, the Naturist Societys Eastern and Midwestern Gatherings, National AIDS Awareness Day, Daniel Pearl Day, SUNOCOs Welcome America celebrations and numerous clubs and venues. Matt has performed duets with guitarists Larry Coryell, Emiliano Pardo-Tristan and Sam Gorelik, violinist Joyell Washington and bassist Bill Zola, among others. He is also a founding member of the all-acoustic Language of 3.As a sideman, Matt is featured on gospel vocalist Paul Middleton's CD Keep The Faith (1995) and rock/alternative artist Nate Hawks Nathaniel Hawk (1994). Matt has worked in live performances with a broad range of artists, including vocalists Essra Mohawk and Julie Holtzman, bassist Starr Cullars, Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble, saxophonists Bobby Zankel and Steve Oliver, pianists Elio Villafranca and John Conahan, organists Joey DeFrancesco and Herbie Nix, drummers Mike Clark, Kenwood Dennard, Marlon Simon and Adrian Velosin and percussionists Cafe and Pablo Batista.A Freedom Foundation 2003 Fellowship nominee, Matt is an instructor at Cheltenham Art & Music Center and the Academy of Community Music. He served as Head of Faculty at the FrankfordStyle School for Creative Arts for eight years and music education director at Zanaras Music Stores for ten years. In conjunction with his performances, Matt frequently conducts workshops and master classes.Currently, Matt has artist endorsements with Godin Guitars (Seagull MJM6CW and Glissentar), EMG Pickups, John Pearse Strings and Zanaras Music cables and connectors.In the Summer of 2000, Matt released his first solo CD In This Single Moment on his own FingerMusic label and followed with Dayside in February of 2004. Matt has just released One In Mind featuring live performances with Language of 3 and has just finished a live recording with his current trio.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4