Trombonist and arranger Mike Dease appears as special guest on The WAITIKI 7‘s debut album, Adventures in Paradise. Dease puts his arranging chops to use with a beautiful version of the Duke Ellington tune, “Mood Indigo.” In addition to his playing on that tune, jazz trombone connoisseurs will dig the solos he trades with Tim Mayer (sax) on “Totem Pole” and the avant-garde approach he takes on “Octopus Menagerie.”
Bio
Jazz Legacy Productions 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 the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award in 2007 & 2008.
Holding the B.Mus and M.Mus degrees from The Juilliard School’s ground-breaking Institute of Jazz Studies, Dease is a member of the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Big Band and has engaged in an exciting sideman and solo career 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, Jimmy Heath Big Band, The Juilliard Symphony, Shelly Berg and Slide Hampton, to name a few.
Michael Dease performs exclusively on Michael Rath Trombones.
Brother Cleve is a consummate musician, record producer, mixologist, DJ—and The WAITIKI 7 have called upon him for all of those things at one time or another. He produced albums for W7′s previous quartet incarnation in 2005 and 2007. This time around, Cleve joined forces with us as production consultant, providing oversight for the mixing, mastering, and track sequencing stages of Adventures in Paradise.