Michael Campagna has been acclaimed as one of most original and exciting new talents in jazz today. He has performed on stages and in recording studios across the globe. His debut recording as a leader - Passionate Nature - garnered high critical acclaim. “He is a great player with a great sound and a lot of melody in his heart and he makes me happy when I hear him play” says saxophone giant George Garzone. “Once and a while you meet musicians who have what we call an ‘old soul’, an immensely talented musician and composer, he’s serious, but not so serious that you can’t find the fun in his music” according to Loren Schoenberg, Executive Director of the Jazz Museum in Harlem.
A graduate of the University of Miami as a Studio Music and Jazz major, he earned a Master's degree in Composition, while focusing extensively on woodwind doubling, in addition to improvisation and composition: he can be heard regularly performing on tenor, soprano saxophones and flute. Campagna has spent several years teaching aspiring musicians, notably at the University of Miami and at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, and most recently at the "Niccolo' Paganini" Conservatory of Music in Genoa, Italy. Michael’s versatility as a musician and composer has led him to engagements with the Florida Philharmonic, the New World Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic. He was a commissioned arranger for the Greensboro, North Carolina Pops Symphony.
Campagna has shared the stage with a wide range of musicians, from jazz legends such as Charlie Haden, Maria Schneider, Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Randy Brecker, Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd, Junior Mance, Bobby Short, John Faddis, Ben Riley, Claire Fisher, The Toshiko Akiyoshi Big Band and The Duke Ellington Orchestra, to Warner Bros. recording artists Lea DeLaria and BWB, to Motown legends The Temptations as well as performing on the Latin American hit TV program Sabado Gigante. A frequent collaborator with musicians from all over the globe, Campagna has most recently been touring with international recording artist Josè James as part of his highly acclaimed Facing East: The Music of John Coltrane project as well as his high powered quintet collaboration with American trumpeter Andy Gravish entitled 5AM.
Venues in which Campagna has performed include the Village Vanguard and Birdland (New York, NY); Blue Note (Milano, Italy); Royal Festival Hall (London); New Morning (Paris); AB (Brussels); Chorus Jazz Club (Switzerland). He also has performed at many international jazz festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Nice Jazz Fest (France), East Coast Jazz Fest (Washington D.C.), Jazz Fest Wien (Austria), Middelheim Jazz (Belgium).