About Michael

Michael began his musical studies at 7 years old. After hearing the music of Sonny Rollins particularly “Saxophone Colossus”, he immediately switched to the tenor saxophone. He was very passionate about wanting to study one of the most amazing art forms of music. He discovered a jazz program nearby in Newark, NJ called the “New Jersey Performing Arts Center - Wells Fargo Jazz for Teens Program”. This school opened countless doors for him in terms of being able to truly see the performance life of a passionate and hard-working musician and all of the countless opportunities available. He has performed in many ensembles lead by in-demand jazz musicians such as Lauren Sevian, Jeb Patton, Valery Ponomarev, Earl McIntyre, Don Braden etc. He was also a member of the Brick City Jazz Orchestra/James Moody Jazz Orchestra directed by Mark Gross. This jazz institute emphasized the importance of learning the foundations of jazz ranging from Early Swing, Hard-Bop, Bebop, Fusion and many other styles as well.

 He is the recipient of “The Governor’s Exceptional Promise in Music Award”, “The ASCAP Foundation Chein Garcia Alonso Music Scholarship” and was inducted as a member of the George Wein Scholars Jazz Ensemble. Furthering his studies, he studied Latin Jazz at the Berklee College of Music Pre-College program directed by Paquito D’Rivera and at the Berklee 5-Week Summer Program with Lance Van Lenten. Michael earned his Bachelor’s Degree at Mason Gross School of the Arts in Jazz Performance Studies - graduating Cum Laude. 

Michael had the distinct pleasure of performing alongside the “who’s who” in jazz such as Mark Gross, Rufus Reid, Valery Ponomarev, Robin Eubanks, Freddie Hendrix, Bobby Sanabria, David “Happy” Williams, Jerome Jennings, Marc Mommas, Delfayo Marasalis, Patience Higgins, James Austin Jr, Ken Fowser, Victor Jones, Roxy Coss, Art Ovrutski, Corey Rawls, Zaccai Curtis, Brandon McCune, Don Braden, Gary Smulyan, Alexa Tarantino, Michael Weiss, Bill Moring, Jordan Pettay, Victor Gould, Earl McIntyre, Sam Burtis, McClenty Hunter, Christopher McBride, Lonnie Plaxico, Mamiko Watanbe, and others. He has studied under the tutelage of many jazz masters such as Mark Gross, Wayne Escoffery, Lauren Sevian, Jeb Patton, Valery Ponomarev, Earl McIntyre, Don Braden, Bill O’Connell, Abraham Burton, Gary Smulyan, Ralph Bowen, Melissa Aldana, Ken Fowser, Julieta Eugenio, Eric Alexander, David Glasser, Bobby Sanabria, Sam Dillon, Andy McKee, Rachel Z, Jay Bianchi, Amir Ziv, Grant Stewart, Jane Ira Bloom, Reggie Workman and others. 

He earned his Master’s of Music Degree in Jazz Performance/Composition/Improvisation at The New School in New York City - Summa Cum Laude.