A true jazz original whose music surges with breakneck momentum, pianist Michael Wolff has cut an imposing career path since breaking in with Cal Tjader at 19. Raised mostly in Berkeley, he made his recording debut with Cannonball Adderley in 1975, which put him in the thick of the New York action. Over the past three decades he’s worked extensively with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Nancy Wilson and his late friend Warren Zevon. As a leader, Wolff’s Impure Thoughts “world-jazz” group, featuring tabla master Badal Roy, has issued a series of provocative records and toured extensively. Wolff is also well known as bandleader for the Arsenio Hall Show in the mid-’80s. On his toe-tapping new album, Joe’s Strut, Wolff returns to a straight ahead acoustic piano trio, a perfect fit for the intimate Florence Gould Theatre.

“One of the most innovative and dynamic pianists
of his generation.”
—JazzTimes