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I am a New Yorker (b. 1950) and I am both an Artist and Educator. I began playing the drums at the age of eight and became a multi-stylist. As an Educator, I am one of the founding members of the Drummers Collective where I taught for over 25 years. I was also the Professor of Drum Set Studies (2003-2020 Ret.) and head of the Jazz Department at the Escola Superior de Maºsica e Artes do Espectaculo (ESMAE) in Porto, Portugal. Currently I am the Professor of Drum Set Studies at Escuela Superior de Maºsica Jam Session Barcelona, Espana and I am the founder / artistic director of International Drum Academy Lisboa, Portugal.
I have performed and/or recorded with Benny Golson, Chuck Berry, Paul Anka, Tom Harrell, Charles Brown, Darlene Love, Bill Frisell, Bob Stewart, Rick Margitza, Jerry Jemmott, Mike Stern, Silje Nergaard, Dena DeRose, Tutu Puoane, Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos, Orquestra Jazz Algarve, Jorge Costa Pinto Big Band, The Postcard Brass Band, Hugo Alves Quartet, Quinteto Mario Santos and many others. I currently lead The Michael Lauren All Stars whose two albums, œOnce Upon A Time In Portugal and œOld School / Fresh Jazz, 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. I am also the author of seven books including Welcome To Odd Times, The Book of Silence and The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming.
