Matt Smiley

 Matt Smiley is a bassist, composer, and educator from Staunton, Virginia, now residing in northern Colorado.

In his work as a performer and a composer, Smiley focuses on developing systems and modes of playing at the nexus of composition and improvisation that reference elements of established American vernacular and experimental music traditions, while simultaneously and idiosyncratically deviating from them. His multifaceted and studied approach to both the bass and composition enable an adroit facility in both idiomatic and non-idiomatic settings.

Since moving to Colorado, Smiley has worked with a number of diverse and prominent performers and composers including Alvin Lucier, Christian Wolff, Stephen Drury, Jean-Claude Risset, Terrell Stafford, and Greg Osby.

In addition to his rigorous performance schedule, he teaches at both Denver School of the Arts Jazz Camp and The Gift of Jazz, a non-profit focusing on enriching the community through the creation, promotion, and preservation of the art of jazz in the Rocky Mountain Region.