Monique Di Mattina

Early life and career

On her mother's side diMattina has English (convict), Irish, Scottish, French and Danish blood, while her paternal grandparents both immigrated to Australia from the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily. Both parents and all five siblings played music to some degree, and when diMattina's maternal grandmother gifted the household with a piano young Monique became hooked. Through her high school years Monique focussed on classical piano repertoire, also playing clarinet, alto saxophone, celtic harp, electric bass, guitar and orchestral percussion. diMattina studied law at the University of Melbourne upon leaving high school, but left this course to take up jazz piano studies at the Victorian College of the Arts. diMattina completed a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Letters at the University of Melbourne, completing her Masters thesis on Miles Davis pianist Wynton Kelly. In 2000 after receiving several prizes and awards including a Queens Trust award and Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship, diMattina moved to NYC where she lived on and off until 2009. There Monique waited tables at the Village Vanguard Jazz Club while studying with Sophia Rosoff, a founder of the Abby Whiteside Foundation, Fred Hersch, Sam Yahel and Barry Harris. She played regularly at the 55 Bar, The Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall and Joe's Pub, performed recitals for dignitaries including Kofi Annan, Bill Clinton and Vaclav Havel, worked on the Bjork Dancer in the Dark web orchestrations, opened for Lou Reed, ran the NYC marathon and taught at the Henry Street Music School. In 2002 diMattina released "Live at the 55" - an instrumental collection of covers and originals in a blues/roots vain, with Adam Armstrong on bass, Kim Thompson on drums, diMattina on wurlitzer piano and K.T Tolhurst on pedal steel. In between periods in NYC diMattina travelled extensively, spending time in Europe, Japan, China and one year in Sydney Australia performing in the Lion King Orchestra. diMattina's first child was born in Harlem in 2008, and she returned to live in Melbourne, Australia in 2009.

Music career

In 2009 diMattina released her first solo piano album 'Senses' on the Move label. In 2010 diMattina released "Welcome Stranger" on Head Records, the first album in which she sings in addition to playing piano. This album contains mostly original songs, with one cover of Paul Kelly's 'Dumb Things', in a New Orleans style. diMattina has said the album title refers to a famously large gold nugget unearthed near Ballarat during the Victorian gold rush, and also to the experience of returning as a stranger to one's hometown after years away. The album was written of as being quintessentially Melbournesque - "about us and the place we live" by Age columnist and music writer Chris Johnson. The song Livingest Place was dubbed the "nicest slyest Melbourne vs Sydney song ever" by Doug Spenser ABC RN.

In 2011 diMattina followed with a second solo piano album - 'Sun Signs' - designed around the twelve sings of the zodiac. During this period diMattina performed a regular segment called 'Shaken Not Rehearsed' on radio 3RRR 102.7 Fm as a guest on Tim Thorpe's Vital Bits program, and later on ABC 774 with Lindy Burns, in which she would play bespoke songs on air, written according to listener requests within the hour. diMattina also performed in the Clare Bowditch musical theatre piece 'Eva' based on the life of jazz singer Eva Cassidy and opened for Chris Botti on his Australian tour.

In 2012 diMattina recorded her fifth album 'Nola's Ark' at Piety Studios in New Orleans with producer Mark Bingham (John Scofield, Cassandra Wilson) and musicians from the bands of Harry Connick Jnr and Dr John including Leroy Jones on trumpet , Matt Perrine on bass and June Yamagishi on guitar. Many of the eight original songs on this album originated in the Shaken Not Rehearsed segment. 'Nola's Ark' was released on Head Records in May 2013. In 2015 diMattina premiered her show 'An Affair to Dismember ' to sellout crowds at the Melbourne Recital Centre and Stonnington Jazz Festival. In October 2015 diMattina released 'Everybody Loves Somebody' - her sixth album on the Head Records label.

Albums

Influences

diMattina has cited J.S. Bach, Nina Simone, Sidney Bechet, Edith Piaf, Bob Dylan, Astor Piazzola, Toots Thielemans, Ricki Lee Jones, Lili Boulanger, Donny Hathaway and Allen Toussaint as influences on her music.

Discography

As side-person