王于維 Michael Wang

Trombonist, composer, and arranger Michael Wang (王于維) is a distinguished rising talent in the international jazz scene. Born in Taiwan and raised in Sacramento, California, Wang began his trombone studies at the age of eleven. In 2012, he moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music as a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, where he studied under the mentorship of Phil Wilson, Marshall Gilkes, David Santoro, George Garzone, and Darren Barrett. During his time there, he was a member of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute under the direction of Danilo Perez from 2013 to 2016. Wang has earned significant recognition through several prestigious competitions, winning the American Trombone Workshop's "Division 1" solo competition in 2015 and becoming a finalist in the International Trombone Association’s Carl Fontana and JJ Johnson Competitions in 2015 and 2016. Celebrated by jazz trumpeter Sean Jones for his "warm sound and depth of vocabulary," Wang moved to New York City in 2017. He became a regular performer with esteemed groups such as the Mingus Big Band, Frank Lacy's Smalls Sextet and "Tromboniverse," Josh Evans' Big Band, Pedro Giraudo's Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, and David Chamberlain's "Band of Bones." He also led his own quintet at iconic venues like Smalls and Fat Cat in Greenwich Village. In January 2020, Wang released his debut album, "Bone of the Wang Vol. 1," under Outside in Music's "Nextlevel" label, featuring his original compositions and arrangements alongside Jonathan Elbaz, Giuseppe Cucchiara, Kazuhiro Odagiri, and Juan Felipe Mejia Tobon. Following the pandemic-related closures in New York, Wang returned to Taiwan to pursue new opportunities. He formed a quartet of elite local musicians to promote Bebop and modern jazz styles. Drawing from his experiences with masters like Roy Hargrove and Johnny O'Neal, Wang continues to perform at premier venues like Blue Note Taipei, fostering a deep exchange between the New York and Taiwanese jazz communities.