Our Team
Matthew Alec
Executive Producer
Cleveland Time Records founder and executive producer Matthew Alec has had an eclectic journey through his 20 year music career as a jazz and pop saxophonist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in classical music at Kent State University, studying with Grammy-nominated saxophonist Greg Banaszak. With the soul fusion act Winslow, he toured nationally (appearing at the SXSW festival), opened for a number of A-list touring acts, recorded with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bernie Worrell, and released two nationally-distributed albums to critical acclaim. Now as the bandleader and manager of his own jazz fusion act Matthew Alec and The Soul Electric, the group is set to make its national release debut with Cleveland Time which will feature former Saturday Night Live musical director and Blues Brothers band member Tom ‘Bones’ Malone along with an all-star cast of Cleveland area musicians. Somewhat new to the production end of music, he co-produced Winslow’s second release Left of the Right Direction (notably working with longtime Gerald Levert producer Edwin ‘Tony’ Nicholas) and has produced the soon to be released Cleveland Time, orchestrating almost every detail of the album from the ground up. It is his vision and hope that Cleveland Time Records can unite both those intimately involved with and those who simply love this beautiful art music that is jazz in the great city of Cleveland and beyond to further the music’s footprint on the world for generations to come.
Brian Woods
Producer
Brian Woods is an African American pianist, singer, producer, songwriter, actor, and author. Brian’s musical roots are based out of the gospel church in Akron Ohio, but his musical accolades expand much beyond that. In college Brian began to broaden his musical taste as a radio DJ for 88.9 “The Edge”. Brian also began to do security in college for the national acts that were brought in. It was there that Brian saw his future. As security for the Blessed Union Of Souls Brian saw one man sit at a piano and sing, at it changed the atmosphere. His name was Elliot Sloan. “He owned the crowd of a thousand plus students that day and he controlled what they felt and what they believed. I saw a segregated crowd joining hands and hearts”, Brian said. That night Brian decided that one day that he wanted to do the same thing. Since that day, Brian has been on a mission. Brian has sung and played in numerous bands and has opened for such acts as Tower of Power, and Mint Condition. Brian has performed live on Fox 8 news and has performed live on several radio channels. Needless to say, Brian loves to entertain! Brian is passionate about the music of his mind which spans from gospel and RnB to all the way to standard jazz and blues! Brian’s goal is to bring his sound to the world and use it to bring joy to ever soul he can reach!
Aaron Mayer
Talent management and online Streaming Specialist
Aaron Mayer is a current master’s of business management candidate at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business in New Orleans. He also completed his undergraduate education at Tulane, double majoring in business marketing and management. In college, he served as talent booker and artist liaison for Crawfest—the largest student run music festival in the country with over 10,000 attendees and 20,000 pounds of crawfish annually—from 2018 to 2020. During these three years, he worked closely with over 20 artists, including the Baja Men, Papadosio, Mt. Joy, and Omari Neville and the Fuel. He also spent four months as a venue operations intern at The Howlin’ Wolf Music Club in downtown New Orleans, where he worked with dozens of acts including Samantha Fish and Michael Angelo Batio. Between his time at Crawfest and The Howlin’ Wolf, Aaron developed a love for New Orleans’ live music scene, and spent much of his free time at various music clubs throughout the city. Aaron has also spent some time in the sports industry, interning at Tristar Productions in Houston, one of the largest sports memorabilia wholesalers in America. He also spent five years working online and face to face sales, as well as special event management at Valley Sports Cards in Los Angeles. In his free time, you can catch him playing electric guitar, collecting baseball cards, or playing with his new pet bunny Maple. He is excited to be a part of the Cleveland Time team, and hopes to propel both Cleveland Time and Matthew Alec and the Soul Electric to new heights!
