Matt Kelly is a Boston area trumpet player, composer, and educator. He started trumpet at a young age and has continued his music education on and off the bandstand ever since, first attending Bard College where he studied with New York mainstays Erica Lindsay, John Esposito, Greg Glassman, and John Charles Thomas then continuing his education at New England Conservatory where he received a master’s in BAM (Black American Music i.e. Jazz) performance. While at NEC he had the opportunity to play and study with many great musicians such as John McNeil, Jerry Bergonzi, John Lockwood, Bob Nieske, and Frank Carlberg.
Matt is comfortable in many different settings and genres blending his diverse array of musical experience into a unique sound. While living in New York he freelanced with a number of rock, soul, and hip-hop groups while also leading his own band The Matt Kelly Quartet which focused on his original compositions. After relocating to San Francisco he picked up with a number of local Salsa, Cumbia and Latin Jazz groups including El Grupo Sinigual led by singer/poet/percussionist Maria Medina reviving works by her and trombonist Jules Rowel, Latin Breeze led by Gary Flores, Ricky Aguilar’s Grupo Afro-Nativo, and Pasto Seco featuring Chuchito Valdez. He played with the SF Jazz Monday Night Band led by Adam Theis of the Jazz Mafia and is a founding member of the ToAG quartet along with Benjamin Lee, Ricky Carter, and David Write, a group focused on creating hard-hitting, original jazz and supporting arts education by working with local school to curate jazz clinics. ToAG released their first album “Grey and Green” in 2018 and featured several of Matt’s compositions. They followed that up in 2019 with the release of “Live at the Airship”, an 84 minute, double-length album of all original music recorded in front of a live audience at Airship Laboratories in Richmond, CA.