UpFront Band
- Vancouver, WA
- Jazz Band
- 31 Verified Bookings
Maureen O. said “Really easy to work with, and played great tunes! We would absolutely have them back!”
Your list is empty.
Save musicians, entertainers, speakers, and services, and they’ll appear here.
A group of high Quality, friendly musicians that set the tone for your event! This flexible group can be hired as a duo, trio, quartet, or quintet depending on your taste and needs. Vocals can also be provided on request.
For a high-energy experience ask for "Jazz Frat", Matt's Jazz/Pop fusion project that takes some of the greatest hits from the last two decades and reimagines them in a high-octane, completely original setting!
Be the first to review Matt Sazima Group
Price Range: $75 per person per hour
Gig Length: 40 - 180 minutes
An easy to work with, self-sufficient group that can play a wide variety of styles including swing, bossa, funk, pop, and R&B.
Matt Sazima is a jazz pianist, composer, and educator from Sacramento, CA. At age 9, Matt started taking piano lessons, and by the next year had started learning jazz piano under the tutelage of Dennis Kalfas, a student of Oscar Peterson. For the next several years, he played in Granite Bay High School’s marching band, jazz band, and concert band. He also studied vibraphone and piano at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for several years.
He received his B.M. in improvised music from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. While there, Sazima received a downbeat award for his vocal jazz arrangement of Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark. He was also a part of Willamette University’s vocal jazz group, the Willamette Singers, when they received a downbeat award for best undergraduate large vocal group in 2014 and 2015. In March of 2014, Matt traveled to Nepal to serve as a visiting educator at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory.
Matt received his M.F.A. in Jazz Keyboard from California Institute of the Arts in 2016, where he studied under David Roitstein, Joe Labarbera, and Larry Koonse. Since graduating, he has been recognized as 2016 Ravinia Steans Music Institute Fellow, and has been given a SONIC award for new music by the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers at their 2017 symposium.
Matt has recorded his music in some of the finest studios in the nation, such as Capitol Records in Los Angeles and Studio X in Seattle. He has also performed in various places around the country, including the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas; Ivories Jazz Lounge in Portland, Oregon; the Elsinore Theatre in Salem, Oregon; Roy O. Disney Hall in Santa Clarita, California; and the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, California.
Matt’s Compositions have also been performed by Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge, Willamette’s Chamber Choir, The Willamette Singers, Portland’s fEARnoMUSIC String Quartet, Baroque music quartet Red Priest, and his modern jazz quintet Jazz Frat.
None, we bring our own equipment, we just need power. No need for lighting, just a small area to play!
Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau, Harry Connick Jr.
I bring all my own gear, I just need a power outlet
Maureen O. said “Really easy to work with, and played great tunes! We would absolutely have them back!”
Bill P. said “I requested a selection of classical pieces and asked that the first fifteen minutes be serious pieces and the second fifteen be upbeat. Justin chose…”
Ayodeji B. said “Great evening”
Jenna J. said “Dan did a great job at our nonprofit fundraiser! He played very well, had a good stage presence, and was very easy to work with. We would definitely recommend…”