To me, Matt was the most influential faculty member I came in contact with at Brown. I first came to know him as a conductor and director through playing in the Wind Symphony and then later in the Jazz Band. During my sophomore year, Matt became my professor, in his course on John Coltrane’s life and music. In his classes, he created a comfortable environment where students who came into the class with varying levels of musical understanding all had an equal platform for expressing their perspectives and contributing to collaborative learning. As a result, many students who had never taken a music class before had the opportunity to learn from him and from fellow classmates, exposing them to an entirely new field of study. Matt’s commitment to inclusion did not stop there. He continually pushed the Brown Music Department to develop alternative musical curricula for students whose interests were not completely met by the offerings at the time. The culmination of these efforts, with the support of other key faculty members, led to the creation of MUSC0570, Jazz and Pop Harmony. It also further legitimized the academic study of the performance of jazz and the blues within Brown.
Whether it was learning from Matt, playing alongside Matt, playing under his direction, or helping teach his courses, I always had a great time with him. He is someone that I look up to as a mentor, and as a friend. I truly believe that Matt’s impact on the Brown Music Department is considerable, and that he has paved the way for Brown to become a world leader in the study of jazz music. I am immensely grateful to him for all of the kindnesses he has shown me and others. Matt deserves a pleasant and restful retirement after so many years of rehearsing music ensembles late at night 4 times a week!
Johnny Page
About the photo above
This image is from his class Reading Jazz when I was the TA. We were studying the beginnings of jazz in New Orleans, and we learned about the photographer EJ Bellocq and Storyville, where the name “jazz” is believed to come from. Matt brought in a film camera for the class to take pictures with, which was a great experience for us as many had never used a film camera. A student took this picture. Pictured on Matt’s left is Eli Morimoto and on Matt’s right is Nathaniel Pettit. Matt brought out big smiles every class. December 2016.