At 9, Matthew began teaching himself how to play the Hammond B3 organ. Four years later, he became the youngest artist to be endorsed by Hammond—in its 80+ year history. He was also named a Yamaha Artist at 15, becoming the youngest musician to join the stellar group of jazz pianists.
He’s already toured both here in the US and abroad, performing before The Youth Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in NYC, and on other world renowned stages, including: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall, and Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC; SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC; The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts; Monterey Jazz Festival and at international venues in France, Italy, Morocco, and Japan.
Matthew has performed with an array of outstanding musicians: Ray Chew, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Rhoda Scott, Cameron Carpenter, Regina Carter, Jon Batiste, Cory Henry, Marc Cary, Arturo O’Farrill, James Carter, Roy Ayers, D.D. Jackson, The New York Pops Orchestra and with Hamiet Bluiett and his Bio-Electric Ensemble.
Matthew was the 1st place winner at Apollo for Fox TV’s revival of Showtime at the Apollo in 2016; he has been on National and International television which included an appearance on the syndicated TV talk show Ellen and in January 2017, he was named one of the 17 people to watch in New Jersey by The Record, one of New Jersey’s largest newspapers.
line up:
Matthew Whitaker (piano e organo)
Matt Oestreicher (chitarra)
Sipho Kunene (batteria)
