From 1971 to 1974, he was a trumpeter in the U.S. Army Field Band in Washington D.C., and in 1976 he became a faculty member at Boston's Berklee College of Music, a position he held for six years. At Berklee, Mike taught private trumpet, music theory and jazz improvisation and, while in Boston from 1976 to 1989, led his own Boston-based jazz quartet, appearing in numerous club, concert and festival settings across New England and the U.S.
Mike is a recipient of the "Outstanding Brass Player" award at the annual Boston Music Awards. He has also appeared on numerous jazz recordings as a sideman and has recorded eight albums as a leader: Blue Jay Sessions (1982, Headfirst Records), Day In -- Night Out (1986, MCA/Impulse), Kaleidoscope (1988, MCA/Impulse), From Then 'Til Now (1992, Altenburgh Records) and Street of Dreams (1996, Altenburgh Records), and Close Enough For Love (2001), KC Potpourri (2003) and Back to Basics (2004) on Mike's 3 Valve Music label.
Since 1983 Mike has been one of the few trumpeters to regularly perform on the EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), a trumpet synthesizer with many dimensions and musical possibilities. Originally developed by Nyle Steiner, the EVI has an eight octave range, is MIDI capable, and, as Mike says, "can double as a bug sprayer."
Today, Mike is a freelance performer, educator and music journalist in the Kansas City area and has written liner notes for such notables as jazz vocalist Marilyn Maye (Supersinger: A Tribute to Johnny Carson). He has also contributed to KC Magazine, Jazziz, and The DaCapo Jazz & Blues Lover's Guide to the U.S. and is the former editor of Kansas City's Jazz Ambassador Magazine (JAM), a position he held from 1994 to 2003.
Website :- www.mikemetheny.com
