Michael R. Dudley Jr. is a trumpet player, composer, producer, educator, and photographer based between Potsdam and Brooklyn, New York.

 

With more than a decade of professional experience as a musician, Michael has played at venues like NYC's Birdland Jazz Club and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola with groups such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Christian McBride Big Band, Gil Evans Project, and the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. Michael's performances as a fellow with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra allowed them to share the stage with John Williams and Quincy Jones, among other amazing artists. Recent performances have included Maria Schneider Orchestra's 30th Anniversary Tour, the 2023 Breaking Barriers Festival @ Ravinia, and the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival with the Maria Schneider Orchestra as well as with their own group (featuring Eliza Salem and Robert Papacica).

 

Michael can be heard as a lead trumpet player on multiple GRAMMY®-winning recordings by the John Daversa Big Band and Brian Lynch Big Band in addition to their self-produced single ("Another Star") featuring vocalist Makayla Forgione and saxophonist Melvin Butler, having recorded with numerous groups while completing their graduate studies at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music.

 

As a composer and arranger, Michael has studied with Maria Schneider, Miho Hazama, Gary Lindsay, Noam Wiesenberg, and Stephen Guerra, recently earning ISJAC and ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer awards for their piece "Overture to The Before And After Times." They have collaborated with artists such as Donny McCaslin, and Michael's compositions and orchestrations have been performed by the Sphinx Virtuosi, Charlotte Symphony, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, Next Festival of Emerging Artists, New Canon Chamber Collective, and Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, with more premieres scheduled soon.

 

Michael also values work as an educator, serving as the Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music in addition to giving masterclasses across the country. Michael was also recently brought on staff as an instructor and recording engineer at the JAS Academy in Aspen, Colorado alongside Christian McBride, Etienne Charles, Shelly Berg, Brian Lynch, and Chuck Bergeron after first participating as a student in 2019.