Dusk was born on November 19, 1978, in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From an early age, he wanted to become a performer. At the age of seven, he was accepted into
St. Michael's Choir School, where he remained for eleven years. He performed
opera and
classical music but after hearing
Tony Bennett, Bob Fenton, and
Sarah Vaughan when he was seventeen he began to change his musical direction. In 1998, he won the Canadian National Exhibition Rising Star Competition. He intended to take over the family business, and in 1998 he went to
York University in Toronto to study economics. After one year, he decided to switch to music. He studied jazz theory with John Gittins, jazz vocal with Bob Fenton, and attended master classes taught by
Oscar Peterson. He was awarded the Oscar Peterson Scholarship and graduated in 2002. Before Dusk secured a record deal, he recorded four albums independently. In March 2003, he signed a deal with
Decca. In 2004 he was invited to the
Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas to perform as in-house entertainer for the filming of the television show
The Casino. His debut album,
Two Shots, was released on June 5, 2004, and was certified gold in Canada. The album produced the hit single "Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad", which was written by
Bono and
The Edge of the rock band
U2. This song was the theme for
The Casino. Dusk followed up his debut album with a holiday EP entitled
Peace on Earth which was released on November 30, 2005. In January 2006, Dusk traveled to Los Angeles to record his second album,
Back in Town at
Capitol Studio A. He recorded with a 58 piece orchestra conducted by
Patrick Williams and
Sammy Nestico and recorded by
Al Schmitt.
Back in Town includes a mix of jazz standards and originals and was released in June 2006.
Good News was released on October 27, 2009, in Poland and Canada. The album paid tribute to the crooner style but was produced in a contemporary style. In late 2009,
Good News was certified gold in Poland. In March 2010, Dusk recorded the soundtrack to the TV series
Call Me Fitz. On August 25, 2010, Dusk recorded a live DVD concert special for
PBS which aired in America in December 2010 and across the world in 2011. The concert was recorded live at the
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with a 17 piece big band. In 2013 Dusk returned to his jazz roots and released his
My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook. It included an eighty piece orchestra and guests such as
Arturo Sandoval,
Guido Basso,
Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Ryan Ahlwardt of the American a cappella band
Straight No Chaser . The album paid homage to
Chet Baker. On October 10, 2013, the album was certified gold in Poland. On December 17, 2013, the album achieved platinum status (also in Poland). In 2013 Dusk recorded a duet with
Edyta Górniak. Additionally in 2013, Dusk performed songs for the ''
Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'' special "Snowflake Day", including a version of the show's opening tune, based on the theme for ''
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' and the songs "The Snowflake Day Song", "Let Your Light Twinkle" and "It's Such a Good Feeling". In 2014 Dusk began work on his ninth studio album, a duet album. Produced by Dusk, it featured a jazz sextet and string orchestra. Musically the album pays homage to the bossa nova genre, with songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The album was recorded and released in 2015 and 2016 three times with different duet partners. In Canada, the album is called
Quiet Nights with French-Canadian singer
Florence K and was number one on the Canadian Jazz charts for 16 weeks. It was nominated for an ADSIQ. In Poland, the album is called
Just the Two of Us with Polish singer
Margaret, was certified platinum and won a Roze Gali award. In Japan, the album is called
Lost in Rio with Japanese singer
Karen Aoki. In 2016 Dusk self-produced his first full-length Christmas album,
Old School Yule!. The album included over 100 musicians and the
St. Michael's Choir School, his childhood school. The album was certified gold by
ZPAV. In 2018 Dusk released his twelfth studio album,
JetSetJazz. The album was co-written, recorded and produced by Dusk and pays homage to the golden age of travel throughout the 1960s. In 2020 Dusk released
Sinatra with Matt Dusk and followed it in 2021 with
Sinatra with Matt Dusk Vol. 2. The albums were certified platinum and gold by ZPAV, respectively. == Discography ==