Michael Wolff (musician)
Michael Wolff | |
---|---|
Birth name | Michael Blieden Wolff |
Born | Victorville, California, U.S. | July 31, 1952
Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, recording artist, producer, educator |
Instrument(s) | Piano, vocals, accordion |
Years active | 1975–present |
Labels | Columbia Records,[citation needed] Fantasy Records,[1] Verve Records,[2] Capitol Records, A&M Records |
Website | michaelwolff |
Michael Blieden Wolff[3] (born July 31, 1952)[3] is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, and recording artist.[4][5] He was honored as a Steinway Artist and obtained a Broadcast Music, Inc. award. Wolff has Tourette syndrome.[6][7]
Wolff was the musical director for jazz singer Nancy Wilson and later became the bandleader for the Fox syndicated late night talk show Arsenio Hall (1989–94), where he met his wife when she appeared as a special guest.[8] Wolff provided the score and co-produced The Tic Code (1999). He also co-starred alongside his sons, Nat and Alex, in the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band (2007-09), earning him a BMI Cable Award for producing the series' music. Wolff was the leader of the jazz band Impure Thoughts. Reconstructed as Wolff & Clark Expedition, it is a jazz-funk group.
Childhood and family life
Wolff was born in Victorville, California and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.[3] His family is culturally Jewish[9] and is the son of Lise (Silverman) and Marvin Wolff,[10] a medical doctor, who treated Elvis Presley when the Wolffs' settled in Memphis, Tennessee. At age nine, his family moved to Berkeley, California,[3] and began studying classical piano at age eight before playing drums at age 12. While attending Berkeley High School, Wolff had begun playing piano with the University of California Jazz Ensembles under the direction of Dr. David W. Tucker. After graduating from high school, Wolff attended the University of California, Berkeley before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles.[8]
Wolff's mother remarried psychiatrist Neal Blumenfeld (Wolff's stepfather), who died on December 1, 2013. He has two step-siblings, Mimi and Judy.[11] Wolff married actress Polly Draper in 1992;[12] they have two sons together: Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff, who starred in and wrote the music for The Naked Brothers Band film and series that was created and produced by Draper.[13] Draper also wrote and starred in The Tic Code, a musical drama film influenced by Wolff's life with Tourette syndrome to which he contributed the score.[9]
Career
Wolff left college in 1972 to begin his music career, joining Cal Tjader's band.[14] He then joined Cannonball Adderley's band in 1975. In 1977, he formed the band Answering Service with saxophonist Alex Foster.[15] Wolff worked with other famous artists including Warren Zevon, The Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Jean-Luc Ponty, Children On The Corner, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tony Williams, and Christian McBride.[14][16] Wolff composed and played original music—and served as host—for the Riverside Shakespeare Company production of The Mandrake in New York City in 1975.[citation needed]
In 1978, singer Nancy Wilson chose Wolff as her musical director.[8] Arsenio Hall was Wilson's opening act, and in 1989, when Hall was given his own talk show, Wolff was chosen to serve as its bandleader and musical director.[17] He met his wife, actress Polly Draper, when she appeared as a guest on the show.[8] In 1995, he released Jumpstart featuring Christian McBride and Tony Williams[18] and in 1997 the trio released 2AM.[19] Wolff was the leader of the jazz band Impure Thoughts which features Indian tabla player Badal Roy, drummer Mike Clark, percussionist Frank Colón and electric bassist John B. Williams.
He wrote music for the films Who's the Man?, The Tic Code, and Made up,[7] as well as writing for and performing in other films.[5][20] Wolff co-starred in The Naked Brothers Band on Nickelodeon, and was the co-executive producer and music supervisor, along with his current wife, Polly Draper. Draper, however, wrote and directed Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, while Wolff did not work on this particular project. [13] He is on the faculty at The New School For Jazz And Contemporary Music.[4] In the 2010s, he formed the jazz-funk band called Wolff & Clark Expedition, consisting of Wolff and Clark as band leaders, with Steve Wilson and Lenny Pickett as saxophonists, and James Genus as the bassist.
Discography
As leader
- 1993 – Michael Wolff (Columbia Jazz)
- 1995 – Jumpstart! (Jimco/Cabana)
- 1996 – 2AM (Cabana)
- 1998 – Portraiture: The Blues Period (Fuel 2000/Varese Saraband)
- 2000 – The Tic Code Soundtrack (Razor And Tie)
- 2001 – Impure Thoughts (Indianola Music)
- 2003 – Intoxicate (Indianola Music)
- 2003 – Christmas Moods (Artemis)
- 2003 – Getting Into Heaven Soundtrack
- 2004 – Dangerous Vision (Artemis Records)
- 2005 – Sexual Healing (3D)
- 2006 – Love & Destruction (Wrong Records)
- 2007 – jazz, JAZZ, jazz (Wrong Records)
- 2009 – Joe's Strut (Wrong Records)
- 2011 – Detroit Dozen (Wrong Records)
- 2013 - Wolff & Clark Expedition (Random Act Records)
- 2015 - Wolff & Clark Expedition 2 (Random Act Records)
As sideman
With Cal Tjader
- 1972 – Live At Concerts By The Sea (Fantasy)
- 1999 – Last Bolero In Berkeley (Fantasy)
- 2008 – Best Of Cal Tjader: Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-1980 (Monterey Jazz Festival)
With Cal Tjader and Charlie Byrd
- 1973 – Tambu (Fantasy)
With Cannonball Adderley
- 1975 – Phenix (Fantasy)
- 1975 – Volume One: Montreal 1975 (Essential Media Group)
With Tom Harrell
- 1975 – Aurora (Adamo/Pinnacle)
- 1976 – Bird Gets The Worm (Adamo/Pinnacle)
With Sonny Rollins
- 1977 Live At The Village Gate (Bootleg)
With Nancy Wilson
- 1979 – Live In Munich
- 1982 – At My Best (ASI)
- 1991 –With My Lover Beside Me (Columbia)
With David Axelrod
- 1993 – Requiem - The Holocaust (Liberty)
- 2003 – The Big Country (Stateside)
With Warren Zevon
- 1995 – Mutineer (Giant)
- 2002 – My Ride's Here (Artemis)
With Children On The Corner
- 2003 – Rebirth (Sonance)[citation needed]
With Alex Foster
- 1997 – Pool Of Dreams (Truspace)
With Dave Samuels
- 1998 – Tjaderized (Verve)[2]
With Pastiche
- 2001 – Pastiche (Summit)
With Sam Morrison
- 2005 – Miles Away (Convalian)
Filmography
Film
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Magic Sticks | Bob[21] | |
1999 | The Tic Code | Engineer #2 | Also co-producer and wrote original score[22] |
2005 | The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie | Dad | Also contributed the underscore and produced and arranged the music[23] |
2007 | The Girl In The Park | Jazz Club Piano Player[24] |
Television
Year | Program or series | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989–1994 | The Arsenio Hall Show | Himself | Bandleader and musical director |
1990 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Duane[24] | "Every Dream Has Its Price (Tag)" episode |
2007–2009 | The Naked Brothers Band | Dad/Mr. Wolff/Sonny Wolff | Also co-executive producer, music producer, and music supervisor[23] |
Honors and awards
Wolff was honored as a Steinway Artist in June 2006. The Tic Code won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Giffoni Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival.[20] Wolff won a Broadcast Music, Inc. Cable Award in 2007 for producing and supervising the music on The Naked Brothers Band series.
References
- ^ "Cal Tjader - Tambu CD". CD Universe. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Berg, Chuck (December 1998). "Dave Samuels - Tjaderized: A Cal Tjader Tribute". Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Michael Wolff / Impure Thoughts Biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ a b "The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music: Private Instrumental Instruction Faculty". The New School. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Michael Wolff (I)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
- ^ "TSA Organization and Finances: National Board of Directors". Tourette Syndrome Association. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
- ^ a b "TSA Family Portrait: Jazz Musician Michael Wolff" (PDF). Tourette Syndrome Association. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Michael Wolff: Composer/Co-Producer". FLP. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2006.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b Smason, Alan (2006-11-02). "Cleveland set to enjoy smooth jazz stylings of Michael Wolff". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
- ^ http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2009-03-26/article/32558?headline=Lise-Blumenfeld-1931-2009--By-Neal-Blumenfeld
- ^ "Obituaries: Neal M. Blumenfeld, MD - 1930-2013". Berkeley Daily Planet. December 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
- ^ "Polly Draper Biography (1956-)". Film Reference. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
- ^ a b "Nickelodeon's New TEENick Series The Naked Brothers Band to Bow With Star-Studded TV Movie on Saturday, January 27, and 'Rock On' With Weekly Episodes Starting February 3". Digital Media Online. 27 January 2007. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007.
{{cite news}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b MacArthur, Paul J. (October 12, 2000). "Michael Wolff & Impure Thoughts: Life after Arsenio". Houston Press. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ "The Production: Michael Wolff - Composer/Pianist". FourBoys Films. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "Terri Lyne Carrington Discography (2011)" (PDF). Jazz Corner. Terri Lyne Carrington Discography. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ Seidel, Mitchell (September 2007). "Michael Wolff: The jazz pianist may be the least famous member of his immediate family". Jazz Times. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ^ "Michael Wolff - Jumpstart CD". CD Universe. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
- ^ "Michael Wolff - 2AM CD". CD Universe. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Tic Code (1999)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 9, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "IMDb2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Magic Sticks (1987)". Internet Movie Databae. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ "The Tic Code (1999): Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b Lee, Felicia R. (January 25, 2007). "A TV Family Bound by Blood and a Band". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "The Girl in the Park (2007): Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 21, 2011. Cite error: The named reference "IMDb5" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).