Matthew Parrish is an accomplished musician and composer who has performed at prominent jazz venues and festivals throughout the United States and Europe. A California native, Matthew attended high school in New Jersey, studying trumpet for several years before taking up the bass at seventeen. Matthew began his formal bass training at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School for the Arts, undertaking both classical and jazz studies under the tutelage of Kenny Barron, Larry Ridley and Caroline Davis.

Now a regular presence on the New York City and Philadelphia jazz scenes, Matthew has performed in recent years with such notable musicians as Al Grey, Bobby Durham, Regina Carter, Ruth Naomi Floyd, Allan Harris, Pieces of a Dream, Eric Lewis, Orrin Evans and Mark Turner, among others. Additional performance credits include dates with Ravi Coltrane, Marion McPartland, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clark Terry, Ralph Peterson, Javon Jackson and The Onus.

Matthew’s debut CD Circles earned him exceedingly high praise from jazz critics in 2002. All Music Guide called Matthew "an exceptionally gifted bassist composer" while All About Jazz dubbed him "a young double-bassist who displays formidable chops in performance, arrangement, and composition." The Philadelphia Inquirer cited Circles as proof "that the most often overlooked members of a jazz group (the drummer and bassist) can be among the strongest leaders and composers in the idiom," and online retailer CDBaby.com's reviewer called Circles "without a doubt, one of the most inviting, open-armed jazz albums to dance into our warehouse. Brilliant."

Since the albums's release, Matthew has been criss-crossing the country and trotting the globe with jazz luminaries like violinist Regina Carter, vibraphonist Stefon Harris and saxophonist Greg Osby. Matthew has also added to his recording credits, appearing as a sideman on several recent and forthcoming CDs -- notably, two new releases by The Onus (Y'All Got It and Triphony), pianist Orrin Evans’s De Ja Vu on Imani Records, violinist Miri Ben Ari's Song of the Promised Land and three CDs by pianist David Leonhart. In addition to his instrumental work, Matt wrote the musical arrangements for new releases by vocalists Denise Montana (In My Life) and Frank Bray (So Far). Matt also is laying the groundwork for a long-anticipated sophomore release.

Matthew has contributed his rich, soulful sound to numerous other recordings, including:

Orrin Evans/Deja Vu (Imani Records)
Ruth Naomi Floyd/Fan Into Flame (Contour Records)
Miri Ben Ari/Miri Ben-Ari w/Special Guest Wynton Marsalis
The Onus/Reoccurring Dream (HiPNOTIC)
Miri Ben-Ari & Dave KikowskiLive at the Blue Note
Denise King/Now . . . Ain't That Love
Al Grey, Wyclef Gordon & Ray AndersonLive at Pace University
Vincent Bourgeyx/Vincent Bourgeyx w/Mark Turner
John Simonwith Clark Terry and Etta Jones and
Miss Justine/Tasty.

Circles features Joel Frahm on tenor saxophone, Vincent Bourgeyx on piano and Steve Hass on drums. The CD showcases eight of Matthew's more than fifty published compositions, along with origninal arrangements of three standards.

For more on Matthew and Circles, please visit his official web site: www.MatthewParrish.com.