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Mike Lorenz
Mike Lorenz, guitarist/composer/educator, hails from Bethlehem, PA. For over a decade, Mike has kept a busy schedule as a freelancing performer and educator, leading his trio/quartet in performances up and down the Northeast Corridor on many festivals and club stages. Hailed as "an artist with a relentless and finely focused vision," Lorenz has released many recordings including various projects with a variety of groups. His most recent release, I’m Not There, was released in June 2026. Recent collaborations include releases by Chicago-based saxophonist Michael Hudson-Casanova's group HeyMan and releases by Philadelphia bassist Nicholas Krolak.
As a composer, Mike has had several works for string quartet premiered by the Allentown Symphony Organization. In 2024, he completed an artist-in-residency program at the East40, a 40-acre nature learning center in Bethlehem, PA where he composed a new work for solo guitar that was informed and inspired by his time on the grounds.
Mike is a free-lancing educator with nearly 20 years of experience teaching guitar, jazz, bass, songwriting, production, & music theory.
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Mike Lorenz: I'm Not There
by Andrew Hunter
Following a period of change, upheaval and reflection in his personal life, Mike Lorenz says that this record demonstrates a new approach for him, reflecting both his roots in jazz and the fact that he has been listening to a lot of songwriters; writers such as Jeff Tweedy and Elliott Smith. The opening track “Where Do You Go?" certainly shows songwriterly dexterity in combining different harmonic and melodic ideas into a congruent whole. The trio setting is pure ...
Continue ReadingThe Witherbees: Love Letter
by Jerome Wilson
The Witherbees are a band from Philadelphia that mix folk, country, rock and jazz together into a stew of dreamy music that flows together easily into a distinctive sound. Instrumental tracks like “Mirage," “Cold Spell" and “Tribute Valley" are the most overtly jazzy ones on their album. On these, Mike Lorenz's guitar and Jacqui Armbruster's viola play against each other in a low-key swinging mode over the tumbling undercarriage of Justin Sekelewski's solid bass and Kyle Andrews' strutting ...
Continue ReadingMike Lorenz & the Witherbees: Mike Lorenz & the Witherbees
by Geno Thackara
File Mike Lorenz and the Witherbees under folk, jazz or film soundtrack and they will have enough of the right sound not to seem terribly out of place. Okay, this moody debut isn't actually a soundtrack, but there is no reason why it shouldn't be if the right noir mind-bender were to come along. The quartet's musical blend is a thoughtful one, concerned much more with feel than genre; even when these songs are straightforward at heart, the arrangements rarely ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With Mike Lorenz
by AAJ Staff
Meet Mike Lorenz: Mike Lorenz, guitarist/ composer/ educator, hails from Bethlehem, PA where he is a member of the music faculty at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. For over a decade, Mike has kept a busy schedule as a freelancing performer, leading his trio/quartet in performances up-and-down the Northeast Corridor. He holds a steady residency at Tired Hands Brewing Company in Ardmore, PA, one of the top 50 breweries in the world, playing every Thursday night ...
Continue ReadingMike Lorenz: speak between
by Dan McClenaghan
A first impression: Guitarist Mike Lorenz has created, on Speak Between, a sound that runs in a parallel to some of the albums released by drummer Paul Motian, in his teamings with guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano--It Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago (ECM Records, 1984) and Jack Of Clubs (Soul Note, 1984). These are sets that allowed the same freedom Frisell applied in his early albums under his own name, in the creation soundscapes and luminescent ...
Continue ReadingMike Lorenz: Of The Woods
by Wade Luquet
On his debut, Of The Woods, Philadelphia guitarist Mike Lorenz shows not only his guitar skills, but his gifted compositional talents as well. With an innovative sound combining modern, free, and bebop jazz styles, Of the Woods is an easy listen while, at the same time, pushing new boundaries of jazz. It is obvious, throughout this work, that this 27 year-old guitar virtuoso is pleased to share the time on his compositions with his very talented quintet including alto saxophonist ...
Continue ReadingGuitarist Mike Lorenz & The Witherbees Release Their Debut, Self-Titled LP
Source:
All About Jazz
This summer, the Philadelphia area folk-jazz band, Mike Lorenz & the Witherbees, are releasing their first LP of new original music and folksy covers. Following up on the release of the digital single “When the Stars Go Blue,” this release encapsulates all of the group’s unique tastes and sonic trajectories. The band celebrated their release with a series of live shows including an appearance at Bethlehem’s Musikfest 2019 on August 9, 2019. Mike Lorenz & the Witherbees features 19-year-old, up-and-coming ...
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Guitarist Mike Lorenz's "Of the Woods" Available Now!
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Mike Lorenz
Philadelphia guitarist Mike Lorenz has released his debut full-length CD, Of the Woods, available now on iTunes, CDBaby and BandCamp. Of the Woods highlights seven of Lorenz's original compositions performed in quartet and quintet setting and featuring pianist Matt Mitchell, alto saxophonist Mike Cemprola, bassist Brian Howell and drummer Matt Scarano. A CD release show is scheduled for Friday, February 10th, 2012 at the Moonstone Arts Center in Philadelphia, PA as part of the Lucky Old Souls @ Moonstone concert ...
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Mike Lorenz/Chris Covatta Quartet at Chris' Jazz Cafe on December 23, 2009
Source:
All About Jazz
Mike Lorenz Quartet with Pianist Matt Mitchell @ Chris' Jazz Cafe on April 8th
Source:
All About Jazz
Mike Lorenz Quartet with Highbrid in Doylestown - Thursday, January 15th
Source:
All About Jazz
This Thursday, January 15th, the Mike Lorenz Quartet and Highbrid make a joint appearance at Puck Live in Doylestown, PA. Both groups are frequent contributors to the Philadelphia jazz scene and feature a distinctly modern sound.
Mike Lorenz Quartet
Mike Lorenz is a young guitarist established in Lehigh Valley, PA leading a quartet of up- and-coming musicians performing his original jazz compositions. The group’s influences come from the avant-garde to the tradition of jazz combining the entire history of the ...
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Mike Lorenz Quartet @ Puck Live
Source:
All About Jazz
Mike Lorenz will be performing at Puck in Doylestown on July 31, 2008. Lorenz is a jazz guitarist from Lehigh Valley, PA. Playing professionally since the age of 19, Mike has performed with such musicians as Rufus Reid, George Young, Bud Shank, Jim Pugh, Ravi Coltrane, Neil Wetzel, Paul Rostock and Pete Colangelo. Mike has performed at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, PA and at Bethlehem's Musikfest. He is the newest member of the Tony Gairo/Gary Rissmiller Jazz Orchestra, a ...
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Mike Lorenz Quartet at Chris' Jazz Cafe on April 24, 2008
Source:
All About Jazz
Mike Lorenz is a jazz guitarist from Lehigh Valley, PA. Playing professionally since the age of 19, Mike has performed with such musicians as Rufus Reid, George Young, Bud Shank, Jim Pugh, Ravi Coltrane, Neil Wetzel, Paul Rostock and Pete Colangelo.
Lorenz brings his quartet to Chris' Jazz Cafe on April 24, 2008.
MIKE LORENZ QUARTET Mike Lorenz - guitar Ian O'Beirne - saxophones Lee Clarke - bass Kyle Page - drums ...
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Mike Lorenz at Puck in Doylestown PA on January 10, 2008
Source:
All About Jazz
Mike Lorenz will be performing at Puck in Doylestown on January 10, 2008. Lorenz is a jazz guitarist from Lehigh Valley, PA. Playing professionally since the age of 19, Mike has performed with such musicians as Rufus Reid, George Young, Bud Shank, Jim Pugh, Ravi Coltrane, Neil Wetzel, Paul Rostock and Pete Colangelo. Mike has performed at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, PA and at Bethlehem's Musikfest. He is the newest member of the Tony Gairo/Gary Rissmiller Jazz Orchestra, a ...
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"Working within the melodically edgy orbit of such role models as Ben Monder and Kurt Rosenwinkel, he can float by on chordal clouds or stun you with quick flashes of linear brilliance… Lorenz’s quartet comes at the material with a sense of whimsy and seasoned trust." —David R. Adler, Philadelphia Weekly "The musicians bring traditional jazz aplomb and an intrepid sense of musicianship to each of their efforts on the new album, and the results prove both accessible and surprising." - WXPN's the Key, review of Mike Lorenz & the Witherbees
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trumpet
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Sonny Sharrock
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piano
Bill Frisell
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Grant Green
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Jim Hall
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Keith Jarrett
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Paul Motian
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The Bad Plus
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Julian Lage
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Mary Halvorson
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Jerry Garcia
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Music
Linger
From: Love LetterBy Mike Lorenz
easy
From: easy / homeBy Mike Lorenz
Drum Wrecked
From: vehiclesBy Mike Lorenz
Lilac
From: Mike Lorenz & the WitherbeesBy Mike Lorenz
Speak Between
From: Speak BetweenBy Mike Lorenz
Scentless Apprentice
From: Mike Lorenz & FriendzBy Mike Lorenz
Between Signals
From: Of The WoodsBy Mike Lorenz
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