Matt Belsante
Encyclopedia
Matt Belsante (born October 5, 1984) is an American big band singer/songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee
. Belsante's music encompasses jazz, pop and swing, reminiscent of the style of the crooners of the 1940s and 1950s.
Matt Belsante grew up listening to old Frank Sinatra
records with his Grandfather and consumed a steady diet of John Coltrane
, Duke Ellington
, Count Basie
and Ella Fitzgerald
at home.
Just out of grade school, Belsante picked up the tenor sax at the age of twelve and became a standard fixture in his middle school and high school jazz bands. He soon found he had a talent for using his voice. By his Senior year at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, IL, Belsante had won the prestigious Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in both the vocal and instrumental categories. He was the first student from his school to achieve such a feat.
Belsante taught himself to play the guitar and began composing his own music the summer before he entered Nashville’s Vanderbilt University
. Before the first day of class commenced, Billy Adair, Director of the Vanderbilt/Blair School of Music Blair Big Band, had already recruited Matt to sing for the Band. Soon, Matt was directing himself, leading the Dodecaphonics, an all-male a cappella campus group. Belsante graduated from Vanderbilt in 2006 with degrees in Engineering Science and Economics.
Belsante eventually came to the attention of Nashville’s well-heeled music industry following a performance of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra in 2006. That performance landed him a televised appearance as a featured entertainer for the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant 2006, which eventually led him to GreenHill Music, where he recorded an album of Christmas standards for the independent label. That album, released in 2007, quickly became one of the label’s best selling holiday releases that season.
Following the release of "White Christmas," CBL Properties and their advertising agency, KMT Creative Group, tapped the Nashville based audio branding company iV music group to help develop an audio brand for a national campaign advertising CBL's mall properties across the country. iV music group suggested that Belsante become both the voice and the face of the campaign. As a result, Matt was featured in a series of spots on television, radio and internet.
Belsante finished recording his second album, "Blame It On My Youth," in 2008. The album is a series of covers of classic Jazz and Big Band standards, along with an original Belsante composition, "Haven't Got Much". The album was released on the Green Hill Music label in September, 2008.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Belsante's music encompasses jazz, pop and swing, reminiscent of the style of the crooners of the 1940s and 1950s.
Matt Belsante grew up listening to old Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
records with his Grandfather and consumed a steady diet of John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
at home.
Just out of grade school, Belsante picked up the tenor sax at the age of twelve and became a standard fixture in his middle school and high school jazz bands. He soon found he had a talent for using his voice. By his Senior year at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, IL, Belsante had won the prestigious Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in both the vocal and instrumental categories. He was the first student from his school to achieve such a feat.
Belsante taught himself to play the guitar and began composing his own music the summer before he entered Nashville’s Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. Before the first day of class commenced, Billy Adair, Director of the Vanderbilt/Blair School of Music Blair Big Band, had already recruited Matt to sing for the Band. Soon, Matt was directing himself, leading the Dodecaphonics, an all-male a cappella campus group. Belsante graduated from Vanderbilt in 2006 with degrees in Engineering Science and Economics.
Belsante eventually came to the attention of Nashville’s well-heeled music industry following a performance of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra in 2006. That performance landed him a televised appearance as a featured entertainer for the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant 2006, which eventually led him to GreenHill Music, where he recorded an album of Christmas standards for the independent label. That album, released in 2007, quickly became one of the label’s best selling holiday releases that season.
Following the release of "White Christmas," CBL Properties and their advertising agency, KMT Creative Group, tapped the Nashville based audio branding company iV music group to help develop an audio brand for a national campaign advertising CBL's mall properties across the country. iV music group suggested that Belsante become both the voice and the face of the campaign. As a result, Matt was featured in a series of spots on television, radio and internet.
Belsante finished recording his second album, "Blame It On My Youth," in 2008. The album is a series of covers of classic Jazz and Big Band standards, along with an original Belsante composition, "Haven't Got Much". The album was released on the Green Hill Music label in September, 2008.
Discography
- White Christmas, 2007, Green Hill Productions
- Blame It On My Youth, 2008, Green Hill Productions