Matti Laukkanen had learned to play the piano under composer Dmitry Hintze, and picked up the Clarinet at the Keuruu orchestra. He studied in the faculty of music at the University of Jyväskylä, and continued his studies in Miami and New York in the US, and in Münster and Cologne in Germany. After graduation, he became a music educator at the Jyväskylä Conservatory. He attended numerous music classes from 1980 to 1995. In the film music composition class at Sibelius academy, he was taught by film music composers Olav Ehala and Antti Hytti. 

He has been teaching the piano for over 20 years in Finland, at the Jyväskylä Conservatory, Jyväskylä  Universityand and the University of Oulu. At the vocational school in Oulu, he teaches piano education for people who want to learn how to teach the piano. 

He is training many world-class jazz pianists based in Europe, as a renowned teacher in Finland. His current focus is on concerts with Otra Vez (Tango, Finnish tango). However, he’s also worked with Tuulenkantajat (Nordic Folk), Vivaldi ja Wispilät (Classic Jazz), Avanto (Scandinavian Jazz), Blue Drag (Swing) ), Billy the Kid (Classic Fusion), Mari Rantasila (Finnish Pop), Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra (Classic) and more, and has performed in over 14 bands and orchestras across a wide range of music genres. 

He has performed in numerous concerts and festivals in Finland and other European countries, the United States and Argentina. He has also composed and arranged music for co-starred bands and orchestras. In recent years, he has composed ballet and concert overtures for the symphony orchestra and has also worked on composition and arrangement for Otra Vez and his partners.