Mike Mainieri

Mike Mainieri ( born July 24, 1938 in the Bronx, New York City as Michael T. Manieri, Jr.) is a jazz and fusion musician (vibraphone ).

Life

Mainieri began as a child with tap dance and percussion; age of 11 was added in the vibraphone. The age of 14, he joined a private trio in the Paul Whiteman Show. Between 1955 and 1961 he was a member of the Buddy Rich band. He also worked quite early for Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins or Wes Montgomery (1967 /68). In 1967 he was one of Jeremy Steig's earlier jazz-rock formation Jeremy & the Satyrs. 1971 Mainieri produced an album for the studio Great White Elephant formation and employed in the subsequent period with the development of a synthesizer vibraphone. He played with its own quartet and with Michael Brecker and Steve Gadd. In 1978, he performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in duo with pianist Warren Bernhardt. In 1979 he founded with Brecker, Gadd, Eddie Gomez and Don Grolnick the jazz-oriented fusion band Steps, which had great success. Their follow-up group Steps Ahead continued this success between 1983 and 1986 continued with changing musicians such as Steve Khan, Eliane Elias, Chuck Loeb, Peter Erskine or Warren Bernhardt.

Then moved back to studio work in the foreground. Mainieri produced pop music, but also George Benson. He also played with Joe Henderson, Gil Evans, Art Farmer, Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Joe Lovano and Jim Hall. In 1989 he founded a new edition of Steps Ahead (including with Rachel Z). Later he played with his group American Diary and American standards. As a producer, arranger and composer of the owner of the record label NYC Records musicians such as Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Aerosmith or Dire Straits care.