Aaron Matson is a North Carolina native, now living in Manhattan. He started playing guitar at the age of eleven, eventually finding his voice in jazz. Matson is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, where he received his Masters in jazz studies. Matson has performed at The Kennedy Center, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Chris’ Jazz Café in Philly, Smalls Jazz Club, Ornithology, Yoshi’s in Oakland, the Ronnie Scott’s in London, Le Duc de Lombard in Paris, France and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, among many others.

Since 2023, Aaron has been a member of and primary arranger for April Varner’s band which performs regularly throughout NYC, around the US and in Europe. In 2021, Matson was commissioned by FENDI and the Juilliard School to compose a piece entitled “Rollerblading in Harlem” for a collaboration video.

Matson’s most ambitious project is the Aaron Matson Nonet, a nine-piece ensemble which released its debut album, Holding on to Yesterday, in July of 2019. He is an avid composer and arranger, having penned arrangements for many groups including The Duke University Jazz Ensemble, the Planet D Nonet out of Detroit, California State University at Stanislaus Jazz Ensemble, The North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, The Camel City Jazz Orchestra, Western Illinois University Jazz Ensemble, University of Texas at Austin Jazz Combo and the Jazz Ensemble at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Aaron also holds a Bachelors of Music in Jazz Guitar from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.