Matt Dennis

US-American pianist, singer, comedian, arranger & songwriter.

Born February 11, 1913 in Seattle, Washington, USA.
Died June 21, 2002 (age of 89) in Riverside, California, USA.
Married to singer Virginia Maxey (1953-2002, his death).
Brother of Jo Dennis.
Dennis was exposed to music early as his mother was a violinist and his father a singer in vaudeville. In 1933, stilll a teenager, he joined Horace Heidt's Orchestra as a vocalist and pianist. Later on, he formed his own band, with Dick Haymes as vocalist.
During World War II, Dennis served as a singer-vocalist and arranger for the U.S. Army Air Forces’ Radio Production Unit and played with the Glenn Miller Air Force Band after it returned from Europe.
Dennis charted 6 times on the U.S. charts between 1940-1981. His highest charted song was "Let's Get Away from It All (Parts 1 & 2)" by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra. Dennis' chief collaborator was lyricist Tom Adair. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.
Dennis was an accomplished jazz and pop pianist and wrote two tutorials, Introduction to the Blues and You Can Teach Yourself Piano, designed to teach as well as to encourage improvisation.

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