Michael Weiss (musician)

Michael Weiss (born February 10, 1958 in Dallas , Texas ) is an American jazz pianist , arranger , composer and music teacher .

Live and act

Weiss took classical piano lessons from the age of six. At 15, he attended Interlochen Academy in Michigan before studying at Indiana University . He also performed as an accompanist with Al Kiger and Pookie Johnson. After graduating in 1981, he moved to New York City. He began his career in the early 1980s as an accompanist to the singer Jon Hendricks ; he also performed regularly with Junior Cook at the Club Star Café ; then he played with the Junior Cook / Bill Hardman quintet, Slide Hampton and Lou Donaldson as well as with his first own formations. In the course of his further career he worked a. a. with Johnny Griffin , for whom he also worked as an arranger, as well as Art Farmer , Gerry Mulligan , George Coleman and Jimmy Heath . He recorded several albums under his own name for Criss Cross Jazz , SteepleChase and DIW Records . Weiss, who also plays electric piano , is influenced by Herbie Hancock , McCoy Tyner , Kenny Barron , Cedar Walton and Chick Corea .

In 1989 he won second prize at the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition , the following year a National Endowment for the Arts scholarship ; as part of this, Monk, Bud and Bird: Rediscovered Rarities with Tom Harrell and Charles McPherson was created . He also worked with Barry Harris on the liner notes for a work edition of Bud Powell's entire recordings for Verve. During this time, Weiss and Harris also appeared in a series of concerts called Bud Powell: Two Generations . He has also appeared as a soloist and band leader in several radio programs on National Public Radio , including Marian McPartland in her Piano Jazz series .

In the early 1990s, Weiss turned increasingly to composing and formed a workshop sextet to develop new arrangements. In 2000 he performed with his septet at the Detroit International Jazz Festival ; engagements at the Smithsonian Institution and the New York Blue Note followed . In April 2008 he was a guest for a week in trio with Peter Washington and Lewis Nash in New York's Village Vanguard . In 2019 he leads a quartet that includes Steve Wilson (alto saxophone), Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and George Fludas (drums).

As a composer, he was awarded the BMI / Thelonious Monk Institute Composers Competition in 2000. In 2002 he received the Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation and Presentation award for writing a lengthy composition for his septet.

As a music teacher, Weiss has taught at Queens College, the Juilliard School of Music and the Hartt School of Music; he also held workshops in schools.

Discographic notes

• Presenting Michael Weiss (Criss Cross, 1986) with Tom Kirkpatrick, Ralph LaLama , Ray Drummond , Kenny Washington
• Power Station (DIW, 1998) with Eric Alexander , John Webber, Joe Farnsworth
• Milestones (SteepleChase, 2000) with Paul Gill, Joe Farnsworth
• Soul Journey (Sintra Records, 2003) with Steve Wilson , Ryan Kisor , Steve Davis , Paul Gill, Joe Farnsworth, Daniel Sadownick

Web links

• Web presence
• Portrait of the musician on All About Jazz (accessed August 15, 2010)
• Review of the album Power Station at JazzTimes (accessed August 15, 2010)
• Biography in Allmusic (accessed August 15, 2010)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Portrait of the musician at All About Jazz ( Memento of the original from February 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Biography in Allmusic
3. ↑ Report on the Village Vanguard appearance in 2008 at All About Jazz  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed August 15, 2010)