Michael Piolet
Drums
About
Michael Piolet is a jazz drummer and percussionist based in New York City. He studied Studio Music and Jazz Instrumental Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he was an inaugural member of the award-winning Stamps Jazz Quintet, which won DownBeat magazine's 34th Annual Student Music Awards in 2011. After graduating in 2013, Piolet performed throughout South Florida and Chicago, collaborating regularly with steel pan virtuoso Leon Foster Thomas, vocalist Veronica Swift, and pianist Eric Lewis. In 2018, he joined the touring company of Hamilton as a percussionist and relocated to New York. He continues to perform in jazz settings, appearing on Dave Meder's Unamuno Songs and Stories, the Altoizm! album, and live sessions with Chad Lefkowitz-Brown. He is a 2021 Luminarts Fellow in Jazz Improvisation.
Trivia
In high school, as a member of the Thelonious Monk All-Star Sextet, Piolet performed alongside Antonio Hart at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. His path to Hamilton came through pianist Martin Bejerano, a University of Miami alumnus who introduced him to Hamilton's music director Alex Lacamoire. Before his formal audition, he shadowed pit drummer Benny Reiner on the Broadway production. He also teaches percussion at the Community Arts Program in Chicago and is a devoted Chicago White Sox fan.
Early Life
Michael Piolet was born on January 19, 1991, and grew up in Chicago. He attended Curie Metro High School, where jazz band director Tyrone Hines became his first serious jazz instructor. During his final two years of high school, he was selected for the Thelonious Monk program at Gallery 37, led by saxophonist Jarrard Harris, where he worked with guest clinicians including Bobby Watson and Antonio Hart. He was chosen as the drummer for the inaugural Thelonious Monk All-Star Sextet, performing at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Piolet went on to study at the University of Miami Frost School of Music on a Stamps Distinguished Ensemble Scholarship, where he studied privately with Steve Rucker and John Yarling and graduated in 2013.
Michael Piolet Solos
2018
Drums solo - When Will The Blues Leave - 2018
4/4 swing in F major at 246 BPM