Matt Finders

Matt Finders
Matt Finders at the 2011 Reno Jazz Festival
Background information
Born	(1960-02-12) February 12, 1960 Livermore, California United States
Genres	Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Pop, R&B, Classical
Occupation(s)	Musician, Composer, Arranger
Instruments	Trombone, Piano, Euphonium, Double Bass, Tuba
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	Kevin Eubanks and The Tonight Show Band
Website	jazzlabb.com

Matt Finders (born February 12, 1960) is an American trombonist based in Northern California. The former trombonist of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno Band,(1992-2009) he has played with various big bands and in major musical productions on Broadway. Though Finders has worked in many genres, his primary focus is on jazz. He works on various projects in the San Francisco Bay area and has traveled as a clinician and guest artist to various schools around the nation.

Biography

Early years

Finders was born and grew up in Livermore, California. At age nine, he chose to begin studying trombone while attending Fifth Street Elementary School.^[1] He began playing jazz at Livermore High School,^[2] and went on to study at San Jose State University. After college (1983) Matt moved to New York, where he worked as a freelance trombonist, bass trombonist, tubist until 1992.

Matt Finders as a member of the Livermore High School Jazz Band

Career

Finders has recorded with the big bands of Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Mintzer and Bill Warfield^[3] among others, and was the trombonist with Tonight Show with Jay Leno Band led by Kevin Eubanks. He has also played with Natalie Cole, Harry Connick, Jr., Sting, Benny Goodman's Orchestra, Branford Marsalis, the Woody Herman Big Band and others.^[4] He joined Clark Terry's big band, where he played alongside Marsalis. He also played for a number of successful Broadway musicals, including Cats, 42nd Street, City of Angels, The Secret Garden and Starlight Express. He also played at venues all across New York, ranging from Latin gigs to big band to disco. He was a frequent player at the Red Parrot club, a popular disco club, and played with Benny Goodman on October 7, 1985 at The New York Marriott Marquis.

Recent activities

Finders currently lives in Livermore California, . He leads high school and middle school bands in the area and is the creator and leader of JazzLabb. He is the leader of the Hart Middle School jazz combo program and the East Avenue and Mendenhall Middle School jazz programs.^[5] Many of the tunes played by the groups are Finders's own originals. He currently plays and records with an octet, which has featured various players, including Chuck Findley, Big Phat Band's Brian Scanlon, Matt Harris, Ira Nepus and many others.

Discography

As sideman

Wishing Peace (Toshiko Akiyoshi)(1986)
Time Waits for No One (Loren Schoenberg)(1987)
Yale Archives, Vol. 1-2: Live at Basin Street (Benny Goodman)(1988)
Solid Ground (Loren Schoenberg)(1988)
Electric Youth (Debbie Gibson) (1989)
Gigi On The Beach (1989)
Buck Clayton Swings The Village (Buck Clayton) (1990)
Carnegie Hall Concert (Toshiko Akiyoshi)(1991)
Secret Garden (1991)
Art of the Big Band (Bob Mintzer) (1991)
Youkali (Jim Hall) (1992)
Fool For You (1993)
Motion Poet (Peter Erskine) (1993)
Shape I'm In (Joe Roccisano) (1993)
Buckshot LeFonque (Buckshot LeFonque) (1994)
Tribute to Curtis Mayfield (1994)
City Never Sleeps (Bill Warfield Big Band) (1994)
Madness (Tony MacAlpine) (1994)
Some Cow Fonque (Buckshot LeFonque) (1995)
Men In Black (1997)
Blues for Schuur (Dianne Schuur) (1997)
Art of Saxophone (1997)
Very Best of Dianne Schuur (Dianne Schuur) (1997)
Last Time I Was Here (Bryan Duncan) (1998)
Out of This World (1999)
Absolute Brass (2001)
Let's Dance (Benny Goodman) (2002)
Inverse Universe (Claudia Villela) (2003)
All Across the City (Jim Hall) (2003)