Michael Lauren

Internationally recognized Musician/Educator.

About Me

Born in New York on January 16, 1950, Michael Lauren has been drumming since the age of eight. His artistry fuses the boundaries of jazz, blues, funk, rock, and world music. Michael attended The Johns Hopkins University B.A., The Peabody Conservatory of Music, and Berklee College of Music. He is a founding member of the world renowned Drummers Collective, NYC, where he taught for over twenty-five years. Michael was the Professor of Drum Set Studies (2003-2020) (Ret.) and Jazz Department Chairman at the Escola Superior de Música, Artes e Espectáculo (ESMAE) in Porto, Portugal (2005-2010 & 2015-2017). He is currently Professor of Drum Set Studies at Escuela Superior de Música Jam Session Barcelona, España and is the founder / artistic director of The International Drum Academy Lisbon, Portugal.

Michael has performed and/or recorded with Benny Golson, Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, Charles Brown, Tom Jones, Tom Harrell, Bob Stewart, Bob Mintzer, Milt Hinton, Ted Curson, Rick Margitza, Max Ianata, Tutu Puoane, Bill Frisell, Darlene Love, Martha Reeves, Don Sebesky, Teo Macero, Jerry Jemmott, Kenny Davern, Mike Stern, Silje Nergaard, Dena DeRose, Robert Kraft, Cornelius Bumpus, The Drifters, The Coasters, Bobby Radcliff, Popa Chubby, Grant Green Jr., T.M. Stevens, Markus Burger, Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos, Jorge Costa Pinto Big Band, Orquestra Jazz Algarve, Quinteto Mario Santos, The Postcard Brass Band, Hugo Alves Quartet, 2 Tubas & Friends and many others.

He currently leads his new band The Michael Lauren Trio as well as The Michael Lauren All Stars and has led the bands Bashier and Magister Ludi. The Michael Lauren All Stars, whose debut CD “Once Upon A Time In Portugal” (2016) and their follow up CD “Old School / Fresh Jazz” (2018) were not only highly praised by both Portuguese and International jazz critics but were chosen as one of the 10 best national albums (Portugal) of 2016 and 2018 respectively. Michael has worked in Broadway theatre productions and in the studios of New York recording jingles, industrials and albums, and was a staff drummer for the music publishing company Famous Music.

Michael is the author of seven books: Welcome To Odd Times - An Approach To Mental and Manual Dexterity For The Drum Set, The Book of Silence, The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming, Rudiments And Variations For Drummers, Rhythmic Fundamentals, Understanding Rhythm - A Guide To Reading Music and Compreender Ritmo. An internationally recognized educator and clinician, Michael has written articles for Modern Drummer Magazine, The Percussive Arts Society’s magazine Percussive Notes and Score Magazine a subdivision of the PBS television series “Rock School”.

Michael endorses Yamaha drums, Zildjian cymbals and sticks, Remo drumheads, SkyGel damper pads, Protection Racket drum bags and Road Crew.

My Jazz Story

For me, jazz is passion, intelligence, joy, beauty, elegance, cohesiveness, sharing, exploration, excitement, honesty, soulfulness and dynamics. I heard and saw those qualities the first time I watched: a drum battle between Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, The Modern Jazz Quartet, The Count Basie Orchestra; listening to the record albums “Focus” (Stan Getz), “Blowin’ The Blues Away” (Horace Silver), “Round About Midnight” (Miles Davis), and watching the Tonight Show Orchestra on TV, as a kid. All those moments left indelible marks on me, all contributing to the musician I am today. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.