Management:
Anthony Hammond
Abraham Clements Agency™
403 Miami Street - Loft
Urbana, OH 43078
tel. 937.896.6196
email: anthony@abeclementsagency.org

Michael Karr is a formally trained, award winning, critically acclaimed trumpet player, skilled keyboardist, composer, arranger, lyricist, engineer and producer and has been featured on close to 40 records. After losing a lifetime of work and memories in a fire, Michael is reestablished in his new Greenwich Village studio, recording and producing several original projects and playing jazz with the Michael Karrtet™.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, Michael’s debut in music came at age 11, recording his first two albums as a trumpet soloist with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony. In the 9th grade, Michael caught the eye of the great Randy Purcell (lead trombonist with Maynard Ferguson) who assisted Michael is getting a music scholarship for trumpet and piano to Carnegie Mellon University, which he began the following year. He continued his education at Duquesne and Pitt Universities, where he played under the direction of Nathan Davis and his Pitt University Jazz Assemble. After completing two Bachelor Degrees by age 19, Michael left Pittsburgh and went on the road, touring across the United States and in Europe.

Michael’s extensive performance experience includes national tours and playing with The Whispers, The O’Jays, Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band, After 7, Billy Joel, The Human League, Jimmy Ponder, The Tommy Dorsey Band, Modern Man, The Jets, The Gap Band, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The Drifters, George Benson (in the line-up at the Newport Jazz Festival), Houston Person, Roy Buchanan, Maynard Ferguson, Freddie Hubbard, Dennis Williams, B.B. King, Mary Wilson, Stanley Turrentine, Russ Freeman, Alex Blake, Arnie Lawrence, Cecil Brooks III, Dave Budway, Eddie Henderson, Dennis Irwin, Joe Harris, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Eric Lewis, Essiet O. Essiet, Grady Tate, Grover Washington Jr., James Moody, Jay and Marty Ashby, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Joe Cohn, Joe Negri, John Benitez, Kirk Lightsey, Mark Murphy, Marian McPartland, Ned Gold, Seleno Clarke, Randy Johnston, Rodney Jones, Ray Brown, Rhoda Scott, Roger Tucker, Roger Humphries, Ron Affif, Russell George and Victor Jones.

Michael is also a veteran session musician, signed under numerous labels, including 3C, Laurie, Antenna Records and Corona Rounder. Michael hit the Top Ten on Billboard’s R&B charts as a producer with the Stanley Fields cover of “You, Me & He” (3C Records). He was the first musician to record live for WDUQ’s Tony Mowad and Chuck Leavens with whom he recorded with for several years. Michael wrote and produced music for the popular radio show Top 30 USA with Donnie Simpson with Sheridan Broadcasting Network WAMO which aired every Saturday on 169 stations and in Europe and Japan. He has worked with many production, mixing, mastering and engineers of note, including the Grammy-winning Phil Nicolo of Studio 4 Recording. Records of note include one of Michael’s CDs featuring the legendary Houston Person and several of Michael’s live CDs featuring Claudio Roditi.

Michael’s Karrtet™ features a rotation of top musicians including Ron Affif, Victor Jones, John Benitez, Randy Johnston, Alex Blake and Essiet O. Essiet. As a band leader, Michael is listed as a Jazz Improv Magazine “Noteworthy Performance“. He has held several residencies at notable jazz venues in NYC including St. Nick’s Pub, Cleopatra’s Needle, Arturo’s, Blue Water Grill, the Bell Cafe, De Lounge, and Mannahatta. Michael has performed in almost every club east of the Rockies – he has played in settings from “after-hours” clubs to stadiums, for the former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani to two Presidential Inaugural Balls.

Michael is available for professional session work, gigs, production, lessons and coaching (see contact info).

Since moving to New York in 1997, Israel-born tenor saxophonist, composer and educator Ofer Assaf has performed with a veritable who’s who of the jazz world and beyond. With a deep respect for and noticeable influence ranging from such legendary tenors as John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Sonny Rollins, Michael Brecker, Steve Grossman, Billy Harper (a former teacher) and George Adams – Assaf’s C.V. includes work with keyboardist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis) and bassist John Lee (Music Director for the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars) as well as with George Clinton and several of Clinton’s P-Funk and Funkadelic alumni bands (including with bassist Bootsy Collins and in the horn section of keyboardist Bernie Worrell’s Orchestra). He has also played with drummer Francisco Mela, guitarist David Gilmore, pianist Arturo O’Farrill, bassist Ron McClure, Living Colour’s Will Calhoun and Vernon Reid and the Latin group KAMAFRA with Tania Maria’s percussionist Edmundo Carnero.

While in Israel Assaf attended the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts dividing his time between his two passions: music and dance (he actually began training as a professional ballet dancer at the age of eight before switching over to a full-time jazz career!). As a member of the Air Force and IDF Orchestras of the Israeli Army he had the privilege to perform at monumental events for such world leaders as former President Bill Clinton and former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He also played for Jerusalem’s 3,000th anniversary celebration with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, in addition to a diverse array of national TV and radio shows, going on to perform with leading Israeli musicians as a prominent instrumentalist and member of the Tel Aviv Big Band in the mid-1990's.

After his decisive big move to New York City, he immediately entered The New School University's jazz program. While pursuing his degree he would go on to study with two of his idols in tenor saxophonist Billy Harper (Randy Weston, Art Blakey, etc.), who Assaf credits as being “very inspiring… helping me capture the significance of sound as the ultimate reflection of my inner voice.” With bassist Reggie Workman (John Coltrane, Art Blakey, etc.), who he studied and played with, Assaf gained “the importance of daring and exploring in new directions, and the concept of fearless statements.” His other New School professors included pianist Richie Beirach (Dave Liebman), trumpeter Jimmy Owens (Charles Mingus, Bill Barron) and percussionists Bobby Sanabria (Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Chico O’Farrill, Mario Bauza) and Jamey Haddad (Dave Liebman, Paul Simon). Upon graduation in 2002, a career highlight was performing with legendary jazz icons Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. 

Assaf’s music has been internationally recognized... He won the Israeli National Competition in Jazz and Contemporary Music for young musicians (1991); was recipient of scholarships and awards from the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute (1999-2001) and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation (1998-1992); was pre-nominated for the Grammy Awards in “Best Jazz Instrumental Album” category (2009) for his debut album Tangible Reality (Summit Records) with Jim Rotondi (trumpet), Don Pate and Essiet Essiet (bass) and Bruce Cox (drums); and with the Bernie Worrell Orchestra he was awarded “Best Funk/Fusion/Jam Song of the Year” at the 12th annual Independent Music Awards (2013).  

The saxophonist has also received glowing praises from many significant jazz veterans,  musicians and jazz critics alike…. 

It's a pleasure to hear and see the tremendous musical growth of musicians with such superb talents as Ofer Assaf... one of the better, young, up-and-coming players who understands that strong projection of guts is needed in the expression of hard, gritty swing.
-Billy Harper (tenor saxophonist)








Followers of Ran Assaf