Monday, August 4, 2008

Matt Nozzolio 1954 - 2008

Matthew Anthony Nozzolio, of Middletown, died unexpectedly Saturday, August 2, 2008, in New Haven. He was 53. He was the husband of Jean A. Wertz.
Matt, who was the official spokesman for the MDC, in Hartford, had a career in newspapers as a reporter and editor. He was also a noted musician, performing bluegrass, blues and folk music.
Matt played the Dobro, or resophonic guitar, performing solo as well as with a variety of bluegrass and folk bands. He also performed his own compositions.
In the 1990s, Matt toured Europe as a member of Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters. He also performed with Allan Harris and the Cross That River Band, of New York City, the New England bands Charter Oak Bluegrass and The Bristol Boys, and was a frequent guest musician with The Remnants and Horizon Blue.
He was a member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Music Under New York program, for subway musicians, and performed in Connecticut for entertainment programs at Derby Hospital and Meriden’s MidState Medical Center.
In 2007, Matt took 3rd place in the 21st annual Blues Challenge, in Greensboro, N.C.
As a journalist, Nozzolio was a bureau chief for the New Haven Register, city editor for The Evening Press, in Binghamton, N.Y., and bureau chief for the Finger Lakes Times, in New York. He also worked in communications for United Technologies.