Michael Dease

Trombonist Michael Dease is a swashbuckling soloist with a warm, yet harmonically inventive style steeped in the hard-swinging, post-bop tradition. A graduate of Juilliard, Dease emerged to acclaim in the 2000s, playing with both veteran and contemporary artists including Illinois Jacquet, Charles Tolliver, Christian McBride, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has released a bevy of his own albums, including 2007's Clarity, 2010's Grace, and 2013's Coming Home, the latter on his own D-Clef label. Along with holding the position of Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone at Michigan State University, Dease has recorded steadily for Posi-Tone, releasing the 2014 big-band album Relentless and small group dates like 2017's All These Hands, 2019's Never More Here, and 2023's The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill. Born in 1982, Dease grew up in Augusta, Georgia, where he first played alto sax as a teenager. He soon switched to tenor sax and won all-state honors for three consecutive years while in high school. Teaching himself trombone during his senior year, he repeated his all-state achievement on his new instrument. Invited by Wycliffe Gordon to join the inaugural class of the new jazz program at Juilliard, Dease excelled in his studies, earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees. Along with Gordon, he studied with trombone luminaries like Steve Turre, Vincent Gardner, and Joseph Alessi. Accolades followed, including the trombonist being named a Yamaha Young Performing Artist in 2004, honored with a Best Jazz Instrumentalist distinction in the June 2004 edition of Down Beat, and receiving the 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. Dease was also one of the promising young artists profiled in Cicily Janus' book The New Face of Jazz. While in college, he maintained a busy schedule outside school. Recruited by Illinois Jacquet for his big band, Dease made his recording debut on the tenor saxophonist's final recording, Swingin' Live with Illinois Jacquet. Many doors opened for the trombonist, and he found himself playing in big bands led by Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter, Charles Tolliver, Christian McBride, and Roy Hargrove. He also appeared with Wycliffe Gordon, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Junior Mance, and the Billy Harper Sextet. The trombonist recorded his debut, The Takeover, while co-leading a quintet with tenor saxophonist Chris Madsen. His following albums as a leader, Dease Bones (featuring six additional trombonists plus guest Wycliffe Gordon) and Clarity, both featured his potent playing, writing, and arranging skills. He played bass trombone and tenor sax on Alicia Keys' Grammy-winning track "Superwoman," while also recording with Paul Simon, the Curtis Brothers, Room Eleven, the Jason Hainsworth Jazz Orchestra, saxophonist Sharel Cassity (his Juilliard classmate), and Thomas Barber's Janus Bloc. In 2009, Dease launched his own D Clef label, recording and producing other artists, as well as releasing his own albums, including 2013's Coming Home. He has also recorded regularly for the Posi-Tone label, beginning with 2014's Relentless, the debut from his big band. More small group albums followed for the label, including 2015's Decisions, 2016's Father Figure, 2017's All These Hands, and 2019's Bonafide, the latter of which found him leading an all-star ensemble of trombonists with Conrad Herwig, Marshall Gilkes, and Gina Benalcazar. In addition to his busy schedule as a recording artist and performer, the trombonist is very active as an educator. Dease has worked as a lecturer at Northeastern University, a private instructor, and an instructor in jazz workshops at universities nationwide. He also holds the position of Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone at Michigan State University, where he works alongside bassist and Director of Jazz Studies Rodney Whitaker. He has continued to record for Posi-Tone, releasing 2019's Charlie Parker-inspired Never More Here, 2021's Give It All You Got, and 2022's Best Thing for You. In 2023, he explored the work of a lesser-known Michigan composer on The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill.
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