Matt Richards

Matt Richards is a guitarist from Melbourne whose playing draws on jazz, classical, Spanish and modern acoustic styles. His musical background begins in the mix of folk, rock and psychedelic music associated with the 1960s, and later moves toward the electronic jazz-rock of the 1970s, where he develops the technical approach associated with those genres. He then expands into straight-ahead jazz, classical music and world music, increasingly using acoustic guitars and a fretless guitar.

Performance and collaborations

As a soloist, Richards appears on the cable television programme Miles of Music with Bob Miles, the Philadelphia television series Puerto Rican Panorama and in the independent film Smoke And Mirrors. He performs at the CoreStates and Mellon Jazz Festivals, the Naturist Society’s Eastern and Midwestern Gatherings, National AIDS Awareness Day, Daniel Pearl Day, SUNOCO Welcome America celebrations and many clubs and venues.

He also performs duets with guitarist Larry Coryell, Emiliano Pardo-Tristan and Sam Gorelik, violinist Joyell Washington and bassist Bill Zola, among others. His wider live work includes appearances with vocalists Essra Mohawk and Julie Holtzman, bassist Starr Cullars, the 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.

Groups and recordings

Richards is a founding member of the all-acoustic groups Language of 3 and Guitar Trio East. As a sideman, he appears on gospel vocalist Paul Middleton’s Keep The Faith and rock and alternative artist Nate Hawk’s Nathaniel Hawk. His own releases include In This Single Moment, issued on his FingerMusic label, followed by Dayside and One In Mind, which includes live group, duo and solo recordings.

Education and other work

Richards is a Freedom Foundation Fellowship nominee. He teaches at Cheltenham Art & Music Center and the Academy of Community Music, and he serves as Head of Faculty at the FrankfordStyle School for Creative Arts for eight years. He also conducts workshops and master classes alongside his performances.

Endorsements

He has artist endorsements with Godin Guitars, EMG Pickups, John Pearse Strings and Zanaras Music cables and connectors.