Whether blowing bebop over a Mingus tune or freely improvising with Anthony Braxton, Michael Rabinowitz’s contributions have changed the conception of what the bassoon can do. Since graduating with a BFA in music performance from SUNY at Purchase in the late seventies Michael’s improvisatory skills opened the door for the bassoon to enter a variety of musical environments not traditionally associated with the instrument.
He has recorded with Ira Sullivan, Red Rodney, Wynton Marsalis, John Hicks, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter and Joe Lovano. His festival appearances include Chicago, Montreal, Berlin, Tri-city, Tanglewood, San Francisco and Hollywood Bowl. Michael is a founding member of The Charles Mingus Orchestra which can be heard regularly at the Jazz Standard in NYC. His quartet Bassoon and the Wild has performed at the The Vanderbilt Planetarium, Frick Museum, JVC Jazz Festival, , Penn State, Kavehaz and other venues in NYC. Ocean Eyes is Michael’s 5th CD and documents the development of his quartet with mostly original compositions. The Buffet Group USA has been Michael’s sponsor for the past fifteen years and has supported his participation in performances and master classes at the IDRS most notably the Jazz at June Festival in Oklahoma with oboist Paul McCandless. In 2009 Michael was awarded a grant from Chamber Music of America in collaboration with French oboist Jean Luc Fillon and released their CD On the Reed Again. In 2014, Michael formed a group called The Odd Couple Quintet with jazz horn virtuoso John Clark. Michael has conducted masters classes at many universities and has released four feature albums.
