Matt Beck has been bringing his singular brand of laser-guided guitar grit to stages big and small for over three decades, He recently brought his musical mastery to the Django’s Alternative Wednesday stage, with a groove and blues guitar extravaganza that had the crowd on its feet!

 

Beck’s versatility has been sought-after by legends like Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty, progressive rock icon Jon Anderson of Yes, and countless others.  And the list does not stop there. Beck has worked with icons like Rod Stewart, Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Lisa Loeb, and Rosanne Cash – and even the Roxy Bar’s own resident pianist and singer Jon Regen. From Stewart’s raspy rock and roll swagger to Cyrus’ pop spectacle and Cash’s poetic Americana, Beck’s gift is knowing exactly what each song needs and delivering it with taste and authority.

 

His relationship with Thomas’ music runs deep. As his Music Director and multi-instrumentalist, Beck helps bring fan favorites to life night after night, delivering the muscular riffs and melodic hooks that define catalog classics. “Rob writes these incredible, emotional songs,” Beck explains. “My job is to support that and make the guitar parts feel as big live as they do on the record.”

 

Beck’s musical reach extends to Broadway as well. Beck was part of the band for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” featuring music by Bono and The Edge, bringing arena sized guitar textures to the theatrical stage. He also contributed to “The Last Ship” by Sting, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s soundtrack to the smash hit musical “In the Heights.” In each production, the precision of theater met the soul of rock and roll, and Beck thrived in that demanding balance.

 

At his Django leader debut, Beck returns to an art form which has intrigued him since his early days – jazz. “I’ve been fascinated with jazz and the guitar’s roll in it since I was a little kid,” he tells us. “I have a Bachelors of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Growing up in the ‘90s, I was really influenced by the NYC ‘Acid Jazz’ scene that focused on combining elements of swing, groove and DJ beats. I’m excited to be curating some of my favorite songs in the world to be played by this amazing quartet of mine which includes Mike Ricchiuti on keyboards, Jonathan Maron on bass and Abe Fogle on drums. We’ll be paying homage to these great songs of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s while also using them as a jumping off point to explore new modern places to go musically.”

 

Long before the arena lights and Broadway marquees, Beck was the kid woodshedding for hours, studying tone and phrasing. “I was always chasing feel,” he says. “Anyone can learn the notes, but making them sing –  that’s the goal.”

 

And it’s a goal he reaches night after night – from New York to Nashville to New Zealand and back again!