Biography
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Born
25 August 1982 (age 41)
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Born In
Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, United States
Bluesback Records recording artist Michael Dease is among the front wave of young jazz musicians dedicated to creating a personal and expressive "voice" while preserving the integrity of jazz music. Dease has toured the world as a performer, composer, arranger and educator receiving high praise from audiences and critics alike. His trombone playing speaks of many influences, weaving intricate, exciting lines towards pretty notes with an enchanting tone, and has been hailed by jazz legend Curtis Fuller as “absolutely amazing”. Dease has received the International Trombone Association’s Frank Rosolino Award, J.J. Johnson Prize and the Kai Winding jazz ensemble trophy. He was named a 2004 Yamaha Young Performing Artist, earned a Best Jazz Instrumentalist distinction from the June 2004 edition of DOWNBEAT magazine and received a 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award.
As a graduate of The Juilliard School’s ground-breaking Institute of Jazz Studies, Dease has engaged in an exciting sideman and solo career while balancing the responsibilities of a full-time student with performances from Alaska to Helsinki, Finland. Dease is formerly a member of the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, whose latest season began with a tour celebrating Jacquet’s 81st birthday to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and culminating with his record 17th featured appearance at the Midsummer’s Night Swing series at New York City’s Lincoln Center. Dease’s extensive performance roster has included gigs with Paul Simon, Alicia Keys, Luis Miguel, Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis, Junior Mance and his Trio, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Juilliard Symphony, Shelly Berg and Slide Hampton, to name a few.
A sought-after writer and lyricist, Dease is also a gifted composer and arranger, and was commissioned to arrange and perform Christmas carols and other jazz arrangements by the Juilliard Trombone Choir directed by Joe Alessi and Virgina Allen. His works have been lauded by eminent composer Donald Brown and have been featured at the Ravinia Music Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Eastern Trombone Workshop and debuted internationally at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Dease’s award- winning trombone ensemble, "Dease Bones" features many of his original works with arrangements of timeless standards and jazz staples.
Dease has a long-standing commitment to music education, accepting his first student at age 14. In addition to private lessons, Dease has been a senior faculty member of the Instrumental Music Fellowship at The Juilliard School, working with junior high students in the borough of Manhattan. His work with young musicians and audiences through clinics, lectures, workshops and master classes has brought him to such venues as The Michigan State University, Scranton University, Illinois State University, Augusta State University, Simpson College, Broward Comminity College and the Grammy award-winning John S. Davidson Performing Arts High School.
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