Matt Shulman, alternately known as Matt van Roderick, is a jazz/pop trumpeter and vocalist who is grounded in traditional jazz but has ventured into fusing his primary genre with rap and EDM (electronic dance music). He started learning music with classical piano and violin lessons in his native Vermont at age three. Picking up the baritone horn at age eight, and trumpet at 12, it was clear Shulman was a prodigy. After high school, he earned his B.A. from Oberlin Conservatory and his Master's degree from New York University through the Vilar Fellowship. In 1997 he was a finalist at the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition; in 2002 he performed with the New York Pops Orchestra and in 2003 was awarded Jazz Artist of the Year at the Independent Music Awards. From there the trumpeter collaborated in a whirlwind of jazz settings, including stints with Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau, John Medeski, and Nneena Freelon. His first album, So It Goes, was issued in 2007. He later moved from New York City to Los Angeles and changed his performing name to Matt van Roderick. On Hero's Journey, released in 2016, the artist incorporated rap, drum'n'bass, and dubstep elements with pop hooks and boastful rhymes. ~ Michael G. Nastos & Andy Kellman