Where Our Exams Can Take You... Touring

Where our exams can take you… Touring

Matthew Read talks to us about life as a touring bassist

Born in Winchester, Matthew enjoyed jazz from a very early age dancing with his brother to Weather Report. Matthew didn’t play jazz however until he started studying at Alton College, Hampshire. Here he was taught by Sam Bullard and took double bass lessons from Tom Mason funded by a college music scholarship. Matthew recently graduated with a first class honours degree in Jazz from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was also the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Dankworth Prize for Big Band composition and arranging.

Matthew has played in many prestigious venues including Ronnie Scott’s, The Vortex, The Barbican, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Spice of Life Soho, Milton Court, Fife Jazz Festival, Swanage Jazz Festival, Concorde Club – Southampton, Oliver's Jazz Bar – Greenwich and The Turner Sims – Southampton. Matthew played in these venues with bands such as the Guildhall Jazz Band (including projects with Julian Siegel and the Dankworth family), Southbank Sinfonia (with Guildhall Jazz Ensemble), Southampton Legacy Big Band, Fraser Smith Quintet/Quartet, Howl Trio, Felix Rossy, Tom Barford/Olli Martin/Billy Marrows/Dave Storey, Chris Morgan/Graham Garside/Eddie Hick, Ed Arm Trio, Resurgence Trio, Corrie Dick Sextet, Down For The Count Entertainment, The Morgan Brothers’ Big Band, Matthew Read’s Quartal, Helena Kay Quartet, Bleep Test and Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra.