Piano in room

Richie Beirach’s 10 essential tips for jazz mastery

I’ve had the honor over the past few months of getting to know the great jazz pianist, Richie Beirach. Richie’s best friend, Dave Liebman, introduced us after I interviewed Dave for the Jazz Master Summit event and then asked him to help me reach out to Richie to do the…

Recent posts...

A Framework for Jazz Mastery
A reaction I hadn't expected to my recent audiobook
After announcing the audiobook version of the softcover book Richie Beirach and I recently published called A Framework for Jazz Mastery, I received a terrific...
A man holding a stop sign
Stop doing this right now to become an accomplished jazz player
The metronome is okay for young kids trying to practice beginner shit like five-finger little piano pieces or first attempts at trying to play scales, but...
Richie Beirach in his New York apartment
My new project with Richie Beirach
Since my interview with Richie Beirach for the Jazz Master Summit more than a year ago, we've collaborated on a great many writing projects for books and...
Chick waving with dates
Remembrances of Chick Corea by friends and colleagues
The world was shocked on February 9th, when we lost Chick Corea. I was on a couple of email threads the next day from reading some remembrances of Chick...
Brass player on mountain
Bobby Shew on proper breathing for brass players
Bobby Shew is a well-known trumpet great. What people may not know is that he is also a world-class teacher. I had an opportunity to sit down with Bobby...
Piano player on mountain
Steve Swallow and Dave Liebman on finding one's musical voice
I had the thrill of interviewing bassist Steve Swallow last week for the next Jazz Master Summit. As I expected, Steve was a wealth of information about...
Sketch of Bill Evans
Remembering Bill Evans on September 15
Richie Beirach called me today and after our friendly banter, told me that in Germany it was September 15th. “Do you know that 40 years ago today,...
Picture of Michael Lake

Michael Lake

Trombonist, author, composer, marketer

Courses and books

Pocket Jazz

The Pocket Jazz course is a completely redesigned series of online videos of no more than three-minutes each. Most of the lessons also contain short excerpts of tips and wisdom from masters like Ron Carter, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and many more.

Teaching & Learning Jazz

From this book, Richie Beirach and Mike provide great stories of jazz wisdom, a reflection on university jazz education including how to choose a school, an analysis of the Hollywood view of jazz education, a look at the psychology of education, and many other previously unexplored essential topics for both teachers and students.

Available in soft cover and digital editions.

Trombone Improvisation Savvy

Trombone demands different physical abilities from other instruments, but certain skills are universal such as connecting your instrument to your musical mind. Learn from exercises and audio files specifically focused on trombone that will help you improvise much better.