Matthew Whitaker
Matthew Whitaker’s love for playing music began at age 3 after his grandfather gave him a small Yamaha keyboard. At age 13, he became the youngest artist endorsed by Hammond. At 15 he became the youngest Yamaha Jazz Piano Artist. In 2022, he joined the ranks of the Nord Keyboard Artists.
Matthew tours within the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia performing on prestigious stages such as the Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵÃâ·Ñ°æapp for The Performing Arts, and music festivals at home and internationally.
He has appeared on television programs such as FOX TV's Showtime at the Apollo, the Today Show, Harry Connick Jr Show, Ellen, and 60 Minutes!
Matthew recently starred, produced, and scored the All Arts documentary “About Tomorrow” as well as composed the original score for the film “Starkeisha” which is currently streaming on Hulu. As an advocate for persons with disabilities, Matthew has assisted multiple companies in testing the accessibility features of their products and software. Matthew and other disabled persons appear in the Apple T.V. commercial, “The Greatest”, currently running on national television. (TV Commercials: Apple’s “The Greatest”. The commercial features the accessibility functions within Apple products ()
In 2019 & 2020, he was the winner of the ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award for original compositions “Emotions & Underground!"
Matthew has three studio albums; Outta The Box, Now Hear This, and Connections where he has collaborated with Derrick Hodge, Ray Chew, Jon Batiste, Christian McBride, and Regina Carter.
