Bruce Mattson - Bio

Pianist and Hammond B3 player Bruce Mattson is a graduate of Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music and a former member of the Gregg Allman Band.

Bruce has worked as a live performer, session musician, and songwriter with a wide range of artists including his own jazz/blues ensemble the Bruce Mattson Band, New Orleans R&B quintet the Mattson Medeiros Band, funky Texas blues artist Willie J Laws Jr, Allman Brothers Band drummer and founding member Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, New Orleans R&B saxophonist Dr. Charles Neville, blues rock guitarists Jon Butcher and Chris Beard, Chicago Blues singer Nora Jean Wallace, blues/R&B singer Toni Lynn Washington, and many others.

Bruce began his career in music as a guitarist, joining his first band at the age of 12 and playing professionally by the age of 13.

Inspired by players like Nicky Hopkins, Gregg Allman, Chuck Leavell, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, Bruce shifted his focus to piano and organ in his mid-teens. He studied piano, composition, and music theory privately throughout high school. In his early 20s he came under the tutelage of jazz pianist and alto saxophonist Fred Holovnia, developing his skills in the true trial-by-fire tradition by serving as pianist in Holovnia’s bebop-style jazz big band.

In 1988 Bruce entered the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano and composition. He performed on both piano and guitar in each of the school’s primary performance halls before graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Composition in 1992.

A chance encounter with the James Booker album “New Orleans Piano Wizard LIVE” begat a fascination with the ten-fingered New Orleans piano style heard in artists such as James Booker, Professor Longhair, Mac Rebennack (Dr.John), Jon Cleary, and others. His interest quickly developed into an obsession, and lead to the formation of the roots/New Orleans R&B band the Mattson Medeiros Band which he co-lead with guitarist/vocalist Tony Medeiros. Their album Qualified is a collection of iconic NOLA funk and R&B tunes that were staples of their live shows.

Bruce's album of original music, Crescent City Swagger, is inspired by the culture, struggles, and musical inventiveness that makes New Orleans so special. Released in early 2015, it features the talents of many of Bruce’s frequent stage mates, including Dr. Charles Neville, Amadee Castenell, Willie J Laws Jr., Tony Medeiros, Doug James, and others.