Mike Saul
Keyboard
Port Jervis, New York, U.S. Birthplace
www.mikesaul.com Website
About
Mike Saul is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator based in Los Angeles, where he has worked as a professional musician since 1983. He performs regularly at LA-area venues including The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach with the Gary Herbig and Bill Spoke Quintet, and leads the Mike Saul Jazz Quartet. Saul has appeared in multiple Jazz Channel LA studio sessions performing compositions by Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and Ellis Marsalis. He holds degrees from the University of Rochester, Berklee College of Music, and the University of Maryland, studying under teachers including Charles Banacos and Phil Markowitz. Saul is a member of AFM Local 47 and ASMAC, and maintains an active private teaching practice in piano, theory, and jazz improvisation.
Trivia
Mike Saul worked as a software engineer for 30 years (1981-2011) alongside his music career, developing embedded Linux networking applications and kernel modules in C at companies including Packeteer and Blue Coat Systems. His master's thesis at the University of Maryland was titled "The development of a computer-aided compositional algorithm." In 1994, he performed in Cuba with the "Indecent Exposure" theater ensemble, and in 1995 he toured with legendary dancer and actor Donald O'Connor.
Early Life
Mike Saul grew up in Port Jervis, a small city in New York's southern Hudson Valley. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Rochester, where he also studied piano at the affiliated Eastman School of Music. He went on to earn a B.M. in Composition from Berklee College of Music and an M.M. in Music Theory from the University of Maryland. His private piano and jazz studies included work with Charles Banacos, Phil Markowitz, Wade Beach, and Ron Elliston. In 1973-1974, he toured with a Top 40 band based in Rochester. Saul moved to California in 1983 and has been based in the Los Angeles area ever since.
Mike Saul Solos
2024
Keyboard solo - Right On! - 2024
4/4 funk in B minor at 100 BPM
Keyboard solo - She Absorbed Him - 2024
3/4 waltz in C minor at 182 BPM
Keyboard solo - Eros at Eventide - 2024
4/4 ballad in B minor at 65 BPM
Keyboard solo - Welcome to the Midst - 2024
6/8 funk in A minor at 211 BPM
Keyboard solo - Welcome to the Midst - 2024
6/8 funk in A minor at 215 BPM
Keyboard solo - Love On Lexington - 2024
4/4 swing in F minor at 186 BPM
Keyboard solo - In Turquoise Time - 2024
4/4 straight in C minor at 115 BPM
Keyboard solo - Grinder - 2024
4/4 funk in F minor at 92 BPM