Drummer, composer, and educator Matt Mayhall earned bachelor of music and master of music degrees in percussion from the University of Nevada, Reno. He also holds an MFA in Jazz Studies from California Institute of the Arts, where he studied drums with Joe LaBarbera and improvisation with Charlie Haden and Wadada Leo Smith. Mayhall has worked with guitarist Anthony Wilson, avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia, visual/performance artist Mike Kelley, and is a member of saxophonist Peter Epstein’s Idee Fixe band. He is a member of the band Spain (led by bassist/vocalist Josh Haden, son of jazz legend Charlie Haden), which has toured internationally and is currently at work on its fourth studio album. He has also performed, toured, and/or recorded with Patrick Park (Hollywood Records/Badman Recording Co.), Miranda Lee Richards (Virgin Records/Nettwerk Records), Lenka (Epic Records), Big In Japan (Honest Don’s/Insubordination Records), Honey Honey (Ironworks), and Spring Summer. As an educator, Matt has taught at the University of Nevada Reno, CalArts’ Community Arts Partnership, the University of California San Diego Summer Jazz Camp and the Academy of Creative Education. His first album as a leader, featuring pianist Adam Benjamin and bassist Sam Minaie, will be released in the summer of 2010.