Matthew Banks

Matthew Banks is a freelance jazz musician, multi-instrumentalist, and music educator based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He performs across a wide range of genres and venues in North Texas, drawing on a versatile woodwind toolkit and a particular passion for the bass clarinet. As a Royal Global Performing Artist, Matthew brings the projection, tone, and reliability of his MAX Low C Bass to ensembles and recording sessions throughout the region.

Matthew Banks performs on the Royal Global MAX Low C Bass clarinet, paired with a Royal Global Polaris Rosegold barrel and a Corbin Kalua mouthpiece. He describes the instrument as "unbelievably solid and reliable" — and notes that since acquiring it two years ago, the MAX has needed only ten minutes of adjustment and possesses "superb intonation, projection, and tone," adding that most people "have no idea my horn isn't 'wood'." After falling in love with the bass clarinet, he switched to Royal Global because, "to be perfectly frank, Royals' line is far more affordable to me." The value has been immense: "It's been a tremendous honor" to be associated with the brand, as the bass clarinet "has given me new access to music and communities I'd not had any involvement in before, and opened opportunities to perform that could never have happened before."