Matt Carter Octet
Biography Matt Carter Octet
Matt Carter
grew up in Exeter, in the south west of England, and was encouraged to start playing music at an early age by his dad. At the age of 7 he started having classical piano lessons, and by the time he was 11, he had started learning the trumpet as well. His brother was also learning drums and jazz guitar, and he had a big influence on Matt’s musical interests whilst he was growing up.
From 2017-2021, Matt studied jazz piano at The Royal Academy of Music. During that time Matt was involved in some incredible projects, including: A big band project with Chris Potter and Dave Holland; a big band project playing the music of Steely Dan, featuring Hamish Stuart; a small band project run by Laurence Cottle and a symphonic brass project run by Mike Lovett. He studied piano with Nikki Iles, Tom Cawley and Gwilym Simcock, and studied composition with Pete Churchill.
Matt runs his own octet, and in July 2023, will be releasing his debut album ‘Read Between The Lines.’ The band features some of the most exciting talents on the UK jazz scene. They’ve toured multiple times around the UK, playing at many of the UK’s favourite jazz venues, including The Pizza Express Soho, Peggy’s Skylight and St Ives Jazz Club. The upcoming album was given a four star review by Jazzwise.
He currently tours with ‘Wet Wet Wet’, and highlights from 2022 included supporting The Corrs in Australia and playing at festivals in Denmark, as well as all over the UK. All upcoming gigs can be found on The Wet Wet Wet website.
Matt has performed with soul singers Joss Stone, Mica Paris, Beverley Knight and Angelo Starr. Highlights with Joss Stone included a TV performance on the Alan Titchmarsh Show and a performance at European Parliament in Brussels. He also recorded a duet with Joss on the track ‘Free Me 2017,’ which was recorded for UBS for international women’s day.
From February – April 2017 Matt toured with the band ‘Lack of Afro’ as part of the ‘Hello Baby’ tour and March – June 2018 he toured with the band as part of the ‘Jack of all Trades’ tour. Any upcoming releases/tour dates can be found on the Lack of Afro website. Matt also played on Lack of Afro’s E.P ‘Back in Business’ featuring Wax and Herbal T and on ‘Jack of all Trades’ released in 2018.
Matt performed on soul singer Ashton’s Jones’ debut album ‘Toast’ to critical acclaim. He has performed all over the country at numerous jazz festivals and venues with the band, including Cambridge Jazz festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, The Pizza Express Holborn, Kansas Smittiy’s and Port Eliot Festival to name a few. The band supported ‘Incognito’ on their Cheltenham Jazz Festival gig, and has performed live on BBC Suffolk as part of their BBC introducing sessions.
Matt has recorded and performed with singer, guitarist and writer Rosie Frater-Taylor. They played at The Jazz Cafe, and performed a live streamed gig at Ronnie Scott’s at the beginning of 2021. Rosie’s music has been played on Jazz FM, BBC radio 6 music, and BBC radio 2. Matt features on Rosie’s new album ‘Bloom’ on the tracks Hey, Crazy and Better Days.
