Matthew was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was exposed early to the music of Cannonball Adderly, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. He began playing saxophone at the age of 9, and quickly began learning the music of his heroes by ear. In college, he was introduced to the music of Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, which opened his ears to the world of modern classical music. After a five year stint touring as a founding member of Sony Music recording artist Moses Mayfield, Matthew moved to Miami in 2009 to focus on composition.
Since his relocation, Matthew’s music has been premiered in Miami, New York City, San Francisco and Cortona, Italy and performed by the Imani Winds, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Matthew has also been involved in fruitful collaborations with dancer/choreographers Priscilla Marrero, Katherine Kramer, and Joanne Barrett, musicians Elliott Sharp and Tatsuya Nakatani, and artists Pablo Cano and Ferrán Martin. He also was a founding member of Fridamusiq, an ensemble of four composers interested in free improvisation. Matthew is also a co-founder of the Vanguard Miami Festival of New Music. He now serves as Professor of Music at Middlebury College.