Matt Kanelos - Song for Shelly II

Raised in the south suburbs of Chicago, Matt Kanelos started playing the piano at seven.  Matt’s mother knew immediately that the junky spinet in the corner would not be offered to the garbage man any time soon.  Matt liked it.  He played it a lot. 
Soon Matt began fashioning his own “original compositions,” indiscriminately incorporating sounds from sources like Yanni, Bruce Hornsby, Super Mario Brothers, Kenny G, Wizards and Warriors, Richard Marx, etc.  Once Matt turned fourteen, he started lessons with a jazz piano teacher who gradually weaned him away from pop/new-age music.  Matt stopped writing music...but he got pretty good at the piano.

At eighteen, Matt started his four years of classical piano training at Chicago Musical College.  He still didn’t write any music...but he kept getting better at the piano.

Though he enjoyed studying classical piano in college, Matt was eager to write and play music that felt more natural for him.  So once college was over, he put together a jazz group in Chicago and wrote instrumental jazz music.  Matt had fun doing this. 

In 2001 he moved to New York City.  Here he put together another jazz group and continued writing instrumental jazz music.  Again, this was fun.

Then he started singing and writing songs and that felt like the right thing.  Now he fronts his own band at New York venues like the Living Room and the Rockwood Music Hall.  He has also recently released his first CD as a singer/songwriter, an EP entitled “Children Love to Dance.”

mattkanelos.com