Michael Malis
About Michael Malis
Michael Malis (b. 1988) is a composer, pianist, and music educator based in Detroit MI. A multi-faceted musical artist, he performs as a jazz musician, composes for the concert stage, and contributes to multidisciplinary collaborations. 2020 has seen a proliferation of Malis’ work as a solo artist. On July 3 2020, Malis will release Dualisms, a multimedia project containing recordings, videos, and an accompanying 16 page zine of writings, artwork, and ephemera. Consisting of brand new original compositions, Dualisms features performances by Malis in duet with saxophonist Kaleigh Wilder, percussionist Thom Monks, and vocalist Denzel Donald, and features artwork by Zara Teicher. Each of the works presented in Dualisms were premiered at New Music Detroit’s 12th annual Strange Beautiful Music Festival in September 2019. Earlier in 2020, Malis released two new solo recordings. Three Pieces for Piano and Marginalia: Rhodes Solos 2016 are both archival recordings, made available out of a desire to continue to connect with supporters and artists in spite of lockdown conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of Three Pieces for Piano, Southeast Michigan Jazz Association said “this is thrilling music, with shifting harmonic and rhythmic qualities that require prodigious precise technique and the kind of generic versatility that few pianists achieve.” As a composer, Malis has been commissioned by Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Detroit Composers’ Project, Virago, Hole in the Floor, and others. His piece Five Stations, premiered in May 2019, featured Malis and saxophonist Marcus Elliot alongside a string quartet of musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. His string quartet, Emerge, was premiered at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2018. His piece for piano and cello, Coda, was premiered by Detroit Symphony Orchestra principle cellist Wei Yu in 2018. In April 2019, Malis and Elliot, who join forces under the duo known as “Balance,” undertook a collaborative performance piece with former Detroit poet laureate Bill Harris. The piece, which featured drummer Gerald Cleaver, set Harris’ collection of short stories I Got to Keep Moving. According to AllAboutJazz.com, “what was most striking about the synergy between Harris and the band was the sheer beauty of the music: the stark contrast between the grim realities of Harris's story and the band's melodic core, located in Elliot's exultant phrases and Malis's evocative runs, was stirring. And much of the music's strength was found in the spirit of resilience and defiance that permeates Harris's text.” Malis has been perennially active as a performer-composer, both as a soloist and in collaborative settings. His 2017 album with the aforementioned “Balance” was praised by the Detroit Metro Times as “contemporary jazz of the highest order, a benchmark for where the genre can go.” In July of 2015, Malis’ self-released debut album as a leader, Lifted from the No of All Nothing, was called by The Detroit Free Press “an uncommonly mature and distinctive debut... The music is loose and spontaneous, alert to dynamics and textural variety while balancing formal detail and discipline with freedom.” It was described by Hot House Jazz Guide (NYC) as “cover[ing] a broad range of free expression. [Malis] bridges the gap between original composed, complex material and the spontaneity of improvisation.” In September 2016, his trio made their debut at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. As a pianist, he has shared the stage with a diverse array of musicians, including notables such as Marcus Belgrave, Gerald Cleaver, Jaribu Shahid, John Lindberg, William Hooker, A. Spencer Barefield, Tyshawn Sorey, Ken Filiano, J.D. Allen, Andrew Bishop, Dennis Coffey, and Marion Hayden. He has performed at the Yokohama Jazz Promenade (Yokohama, Japan), the Kennedy Center, Birdland (NYC), and The Stone (NYC).
Michael Malis (b. 1988) is a composer, pianist, and music educator based in Detroit MI. A multi-faceted musical artist, he performs as a jazz musician, composes for the concert stage, and contributes to multidisciplinary collaborations. 2020 has seen a proliferation of Malis’ work as a solo artist. On July 3 2020, Malis will release Dualisms, a multimedia project containing recordings, videos, and an accompanying 16 page zine of writings, artwork, and ephemera. Consisting of brand new original compositions, Dualisms features performances by Malis in duet with saxophonist Kaleigh Wilder, percussionist Thom Monks, and vocalist Denzel Donald, and features artwork by Zara Teicher. Each of the works presented in Dualisms were premiered at New Music Detroit’s 12th annual Strange Beautiful Music Festival in September 2019. Earlier in 2020, Malis released two new solo recordings. Three Pieces for Piano and Marginalia: Rhodes Solos 2016 are both archival recordings, made available out of a desire to continue to connect with supporters and artists in spite of lockdown conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of Three Pieces for Piano, Southeast Michigan Jazz Association said “this is thrilling music, with shifting harmonic and rhythmic qualities that require prodigious precise technique and the kind of generic versatility that few pianists achieve.” As a composer, Malis has been commissioned by Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Detroit Composers’ Project, Virago, Hole in the Floor, and others. His piece Five Stations, premiered in May 2019, featured Malis and saxophonist Marcus Elliot alongside a string quartet of musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. His string quartet, Emerge, was premiered at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2018. His piece for piano and cello, Coda, was premiered by Detroit Symphony Orchestra principle cellist Wei Yu in 2018. In April 2019, Malis and Elliot, who join forces under the duo known as “Balance,” undertook a collaborative performance piece with former Detroit poet laureate Bill Harris. The piece, which featured drummer Gerald Cleaver, set Harris’ collection of short stories I Got to Keep Moving. According to AllAboutJazz.com, “what was most striking about the synergy between Harris and the band was the sheer beauty of the music: the stark contrast between the grim realities of Harris's story and the band's melodic core, located in Elliot's exultant phrases and Malis's evocative runs, was stirring. And much of the music's strength was found in the spirit of resilience and defiance that permeates Harris's text.” Malis has been perennially active as a performer-composer, both as a soloist and in collaborative settings. His 2017 album with the aforementioned “Balance” was praised by the Detroit Metro Times as “contemporary jazz of the highest order, a benchmark for where the genre can go.” In July of 2015, Malis’ self-released debut album as a leader, Lifted from the No of All Nothing, was called by The Detroit Free Press “an uncommonly mature and distinctive debut... The music is loose and spontaneous, alert to dynamics and textural variety while balancing formal detail and discipline with freedom.” It was described by Hot House Jazz Guide (NYC) as “cover[ing] a broad range of free expression. [Malis] bridges the gap between original composed, complex material and the spontaneity of improvisation.” In September 2016, his trio made their debut at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. As a pianist, he has shared the stage with a diverse array of musicians, including notables such as Marcus Belgrave, Gerald Cleaver, Jaribu Shahid, John Lindberg, William Hooker, A. Spencer Barefield, Tyshawn Sorey, Ken Filiano, J.D. Allen, Andrew Bishop, Dennis Coffey, and Marion Hayden. He has performed at the Yokohama Jazz Promenade (Yokohama, Japan), the Kennedy Center, Birdland (NYC), and The Stone (NYC).