Matt Richards and Tony Hughes met in the traditional, time-honored jazz musicians' manner:  at a jam session. Several days later Matt was contacted to perform at Philly's then-new jazz lounge, the Paris Wine Bar. An intimate venue, the jazz-loving owner was featuring duos – of course, a guitar duo would fit the bill perfectly. "I had performed in duos with guitarists Larry Coryell and Emiliano Pardo and with bassist Bill Zola. A musical duo with inspired artists is an opportunity to create uniquely engaging music. Tony have been doing just that, night after night ."

The pairing proved to be very successful - Matt and Tony performed at the wine bar when it first opened in 2012 and continued monthly until its closing eight years later. The Guitar Jazz Duo has been featured regularly at Kreutz Creek Winery Room, High Note Cafe, Vault Brewpub, Pullman Restaurant and Logan Inn. A live album Wine Bar Guitar is currently in post-production.

Matt has expanded the roster of musicians featured in the duo to include guitarist James Schwartz and bassist Bert Harris, two artists with whom Matt has worked extensively. “James and Bert are both first-rate musicians who bring their own individuality to the duo -- each night is first-rate,” Matt explains.