Matt Skeaping, is a London-based music producer, songwriter, performer, educator, bandleader and acclaimed drummer. He founded the
Cocktail Hour Jazz Band and runs jazzbandlondon.com - a
jazz music agency and advisory service that helps people create an
amazing atmosphere at their events and parties, using
live jazz performance.
Aged 18, Matt landed his first professional jazz gig at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1988, with the young piano prodigy Simon Mulligan (The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shirley Bassey and Van Morrison.) The excitement and satisfaction of engaging a casual audience alongside consummate musicians blew his mind and set the blueprint for his life.
Matt's reputation grew steadily as a reliable professional, taking him on musical journeys as far away as Shanghai, Norway, and Morocco as well as playing festivals and venues throughout the UK. He composed for, recorded and toured with his own successful quartet in early 2000's, with the formidable Phil Robson and Liam Noble, followed by international tours, recordings and performances with the legendary jazz and blues singer TJ Johnson, going on to play for the likes of Selina Jones, Claire Martin OBE, Adrian Cox and Jamie Cullum.
Many twists of musical fate later, Simon and Matt reunited musically in New York, where they founded and ran the successful
Westchester Jazz Band, performing at private and corporate events for the wealthy elite of Scarsdale, Eastchester and the river towns of the Hudson Valley.
Fast forward four years and Matt was back in the UK leaving the running of the Westchester Jazz Band to the saxophonist Lee Greene (Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Clark Terry) and did what came naturally, setting up
The Cocktail Hour - a high-end jazz band comprised exclusively of London’s finest artistes. People like
Gareth Williams (Dave Liebman, George Coleman, Martin Taylor);
Paul Stacey (Oasis, Madonna, Tom Jones);
Tom Ollendorf (Ari Hoenig, Gilad Hekselman);
Oli Hayhurst (Pharoah Saunders, Ray Gelato, Vanessa Mae) and
Matt Skeaping himself. Matt's authority on creating soundscapes for events lead to a demand for his counsel and thus began jazzbandlondon.com
Matt embodies three decades of live performance, straddling nearly every genre and in just about every kind of venue, from cruises to stadiums, bandstands to bar mitzvahs, for just about every kind of client, thus bringing an unsurpassed breadth of vision and maturity to every musical engagement.
Having played with so many of London's top jazz musicians and with an intimate knowledge of the London scene, he has a wide palette of musicians and bands to draw from to create a bespoke soundscape for your event.
From the initial booking process right through to the performance itself, he knows what to do, who to book, and he gets it right.
Book a call today with Matt by clicking
HERE for a free consultation, or for further reading, click on the link below.
