Matthew Whitaker

About

At 24-years-old, organist and pianist Matthew Whitaker has been playing major venues like Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for over a decade. He gained mainstream recognition at age nine after opening for Stevie Wonder at the Apollo Theater. Another blind prodigy on the keys, Whitaker was gifted his first keyboard at age three and soon after taught himself to play the organ. He has been inspired by fusion artists like Dr. Lonnie Smith, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, and plays with a profound sense of spontaneity–seamlessly transitioning between soulful synth melodies, rapid, airy jazz phrasing, pensive ballads and more gritty, groove-oriented funk tracks.