Michael Abene
Composer, Arranger, Keyboard Player, and Record Producer
Michael Abene is a composer, arranger, keyboard player and record producer and from 2004 to 2014 he was the musical director, Principle Composer/Arranger of the WDR Radio Big Band of Cologne, Germany, considered by many to be one of the great big bands in Europe. From 2011 to 2018, Michael accepted the position of Professor of Ensemble Conducting and Associate Professor of Jazz Composition at the KUG Jazz Institutein Graz, Austria. Michael also served as the Associate Music Director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and was an Associate Professor of Jazz Composition at Manhattan School of Music.
Michael joined the Maynard Ferguson Band as a teenager and wrote and arranged many charts for the band. He has arranged, conducted, and produced, along with singer Patti Austin, the Grammy winning “Avant Gershwin”. He also arranged and conducted the Grammy nominated “Symphonica” featuring Joe Lovano. Michael produced and wrote a number of arrangements for all three Grammy nominated GRPAll-Star Big Band recordings. Michael arranged and conducted two recordings for Funkmaster Maceo Parker, “Roots and Grooves” and “Soul Classics”, two recordings for saxophonist Bill Evans, “Van’s Joint” featuring Dave Weckl and Mark Egan and “The East End”. Other artists Michael has arranged for are, Eddie Daniels, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Dick Oatts, Gary Burton, Kurt Elling, Terell Stafford, Dianne Reeves, Tom Harrell, Paquito D’Rivera, Mike Mainieri and Steps Ahead, Jazzmeia Horn and John Abercrombie.
In 2020 Michael arranged a project entitled “Birth of a Bird” in honor of Charlie Parker’s 100th Birthday. This project was for the wonderful WDR Big Band of Cologne, Germany and featured Italian saxophonist Luigi Grasso. In 2021 he completed a project dedicated to the music of Chick Corea also with the WDR Big Band. A more recent project was “The Gadd Gang meets the WDR Big Band” featuring Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomezand Ronnie Cuber. Michael also has a number of composition students in Europe and the US focusing on Big Band and Orchestral writing.
The book, “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the DigitalAge” by Richard Sussman and Michael Abene is published by Oxford University Press and is considered an excellent addition to the individual library for self education and as a textbook for formal study.
Michael continues to arrange and conduct big bands and orchestras.Inquiries for Seminars are welcomed.
