About Gary Matsumoto
A native of Southern California, Gary Matsumoto is making a name for himself in Los Angeles as a pianist and composer. Although he started playing at a young age, his interest in music began to peak while attending the University of California, Irvine. There, in addition to classical lessons with Dr. Lorna Griffith, Matsumoto studied with Miles Davis pianist Kei Akagi. In 1999, he graduated with a B.M. in music performance and in 2002 received his master?s degree in jazz studies from the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied with David Roistein. While in school, Matsumoto took every advantage to study and play with great musicians like Joe LaBarbara, Charlie Haden, Darek Oles, Larry Koonse, Wadada Leo Smith, and James Newton, among others.
In his short career, Matsumoto has taken the opportunity to play in many different settings. In addition to jazz, he has performed and recorded with rock, pop, country, and classical groups. In 2003, he went on tour with famed MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, opening for Cheap Trick. Matsumoto has also worked with film composer Nathan Wang on various projects, including performing in concert with international recording artists Coco Lee, JJ Lin, Vivian Hsu, and Jenny Tseng. In 2008, SP records released The Matsumoto Trio - Days Ahead, his first as a leader. Other playing credits include Henry Franklin, Azar Lawrence, Bobby Rodriguez, Clayton Cameron, Charles Owens, Mark Ferber, Jeff Littleton, Ricky Woodard, Jeff Clayton, Herman Riley, Sam Most, and Phil Ranelin. Matsumoto can currently been seen playing weekly with Henry Franklin at the Mission Inn in Riverside. He can also been found on recently released recordings by the Henry Franklin Quintet and the Martin Torres Sextet.