Bass player Matt Bonelli, a former instructor and double alum of the Frost School of Music who was part of a vibrant music scene on and off campus as the School exploded in importance and popularity, died early last month at the age of 70.
Longtime Frost School drumming professor Steve Rucker, a close friend of Bonelli’s since 1976, when they met while gigging at clubs in the busy Coconut Grove music scene, said Bonelli was an irresistible figure. “Matt was a really funny guy,” said Rucker. “He would light up a room. But he was also a very warm, caring kind of guy - someone you just liked to be with.”
Bonelli was an integral part of another era of Miami music. He began performing at the Fontainebleau Hilton’s Boom Boom Room club while he was still in high school. His father and one brother were pianists, and another brother played drums. Bonelli started studying at the University of Miami’s music school in the early 70s, as its jazz department, one of the first in the country, was taking off. He dropped out to move to California briefly to play in a band, then returned to perform in the music clubs that filled Coconut Grove at the time.
“It was just thriving as a live music location,” said Rucker, a double alum of the Frost School. “Jazz, funk, later on, a rock scene, a lot of original music. A lot of it was Latin-tinged. We were working every night.”
The scene owed much of its vibrancy to early School of Music students like legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius, guitarist Pat Metheny, and jazz vocalist Carmen Lundy. “The level of musicianship was really high,” said Rucker. “It was pretty much saturated with [School of Music] people. Almost everybody had an affiliation. Some taught there, some went to school there.”
Bonelli met his wife Terry, a classical bass player and instructor who also studied at the University, in 1972. They married in 1977 and were together for the rest of his life.
Bonelli eventually returned to the School of Music to get a bachelor’s in 1986 and a master’s in 1988. He was a much beloved adjunct professor for several years, launching a popular course called “Rock Class,” in which guitarists, bassists, drummers, and keyboard players would play in front of the class. He also taught at Florida International University and Miami Dade College.
Bonelli had a successful, decades-long career performing with an extraordinary range of artists. From 1993 to 2003, he and Rucker played for the Bee Gees, the legendary Miami group led by brothers Maurice, Andy, and Barry Gibb, whose songs like “You Should Be Dancing” and “If I Can’t Have You,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, defined the disco era. With the Bee Gees, Bonelli and Rucker performed on The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and for Queen Elizabeth II.
He played with jazz artists such as Mose Allison, Bobby McFerrin, Metheny, and Lundy, as well as with legendary pop acts like Bo Diddley, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and the Fifth Dimension. He performed in touring companies of the Broadway shows “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “A Chorus Line,” and “Sugar Babies,” with Mickey Rooney. He played with bands that opened for the likes of James Brown, Ray Charles, Herbie Mann, and Dionne Warwick and with numerous South Florida jazz artists, including Ed Calle, Joe Donato, Jim Gasior, Gary Keller, Wendy Pederson, Mike Orta, Ira Sullivan, and Nicole Yarling.
Matt Bonelli is survived by his wife, Terry Bonelli. A memorial will be held at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17th at Plantation United Methodist Church, 1001 NW 70th Ave., Plantation, FL 33313.
