Michael Thomas

Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and arranger Michael Thomas has been an active member of the New York City jazz community since arriving in 2011. Holding degrees from the University of Miami (B.M., Studio Music and Jazz, 2008), New England Conservatory (M.M., Jazz Performance, 2010), and The Juilliard School (Artist Diploma, Jazz Studies, 2013), Michael has performed throughout the United States and abroad, including tours in Central and South America, Europe, Japan, and Russia. He has appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ Center, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Blue Note NYC, The Jazz Standard, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and Smalls Jazz Club.

Michael’s discography includes four albums as a leader: The Long Way (independent release, 2011), Event Horizon (GiantStep Arts, 2020), Natural Habitat (Sunnyside Records, 2021), and The Illusion of Choice (Criss Cross Records, 2024). Since 2015, Michael has co-lead the Terraza Big Band alongside bassist and composer Edward Perez, and the ensemble’s debut album One Day Wonder (Outside In Music, 2019) received a Grammy Nomination for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble”.

Highlights of Michael’s work as a sideman include his performances on Grammy-winning albums by pianist Brad Mehldau (Finding Gabriel, 2019) and drummer Dafnis Prieto (Back to the Sunset, 2018). He also performed as a member of Miguel Zenón’s big band on the Grammy-nominated album Identities are Changeable (2014). Additionally, he has worked with Nicholas Payton, Etienne Charles, Manuel Valera, and Jason Palmer.

As a composer, Michael has been commissioned by school and professional ensembles throughout the United States and abroad, and he was a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City from 2017-2019. Michael’s writing has been recognized by DownBeat magazine as well as the “Keep an Eye” competition in Amsterdam, NL, and in 2020 he was chosen by the USAF Airmen of Note as the winner of the Sammy Nestico Award, leading to two commissions for this elite ensemble. Michael was also chosen as a winner of New York Youth Symphony’s “First Music” commission series in 2016, and he continues to work as an arranger and orchestrator for clients around the world.

Michael is an active member of New York City’s commercial music scene, having played woodwinds on numerous Broadway shows. He is currently a member of the orchestra at Cabaret, where he occupies the Reed 1 chair on clarinet and alto saxophone. Michael also holds the Reed 3 chair (clarinet, alto saxophone, and flute) in the Radio City Orchestra, and was he was previously the music director, conductor, and reed chair (tenor saxophone, clarinet, and flute) at NYC’s Big Apple Circus.

Michael has been on faculty at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music since 2018, where he holds the position of Artist Teacher of Jazz Saxophone in the Jackie McLean Institute for Jazz Studies. In this position, he has taught studio lessons, ensembles, and repertoire classes. In 2023, Michael was appointed as Artistic Director of Jazz at the New York Youth Symphony, where he leads both the big band and small ensemble. Additionally, Michael has been a guest lecturer at New York University, Jacksonville University (FL), Slippery Rock University (PA), West Virginia University, University of Central Florida, and New World School of the Arts (FL). Michael also maintains a small and selective studio of private students, both in New York City and online.

Michael Thomas plays an alto Super Balanced Action and the B♭ and A Privilège clarinets.

Photo credit: Jimmy Katz