Michael Rosen has performed at some of the world's most prestigious clubs and festivals in over thirty countries in Europe, North and South America and the Middle East, with his own groups, as a La Scala Orchestra Soloist and as guest soloist with an astonishing array of artists, including Bobby McFerrin, Sheila Jordan, Sarah Jane Morris, Pentangle, Peter Bernstein, Carl Anderson, Mina, and countless others.   

 

For three consecutive years, Rosen was voted by Jazzit Magazine Reader's Poll as one of the top ten soprano saxophonists worldwide, placing 4th in 2011 after Dave Liebman, Wayne Shorter and Branford Marsalis.

 

Recent activities have included performances at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman, and The British Houses of Parliament, as well as concerts and masterclasses at Washington University in St. Louis.  Additionally, he has performed at countless internationally renowned venues, including London Jazz Festival, Lugano Estival Jazz (Switzerland), Zadar Jazz Festival (Croatia), Ronnie Scotts (London), Smalls (New York), Nublu Jazz Festival (New York), Bluenote (Milan), Scullers (Boston), Zenith (Paris), Rome-Tel Aviv Jazz Festival (Rome and Tel Aviv), Hay Festival (Wales),  Tribotec (Rio de Janeiro), Umbria Jazz (Perugia), Villa Cellimontana Festival (Rome) as well as at the international soccer stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, performing the anthem for the 1989 World Soccer Cup with Italian rockstars Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini.

 

As a recording artist, Rosen has seen published ten solo albums and appeared  as  guest soloist on nearly 150 CDs for Jazz and Pop artists in Italy, the U.K. and the U.S.A.  His penultimate CD, Sweet 17, was named one of the top 100 records of 2018 by critics of Jazzit Magazine.  In addition, his saxophone solos were featured on the soundtrack for the ISO dance company’s 1991 performances in Tokyo and at the Rockefeller Center, written by world-famous Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi.

 

A versatile and creative composer, songwriter and lyricist, Rosen's Contemporary Suite for alto sax and piano and Five Petite Suites for saxophone were recently published in the U.S.A. by Lyrical Pub and his book of advanced improvisational studies, Rhythmic Melodic Variation, Vol. 1, was published worldwide in early 2021 by Notami/Hal Leonard Distribution.   Additionally, he has authored songs and written lyrics for many jazz and pop vocalists in both Italy and France, including a song for Edoardo Bennato and Bo Diddley, as well as co-writing the lyrics for the song Lovin' It  by Kyma, which won the Top of the Spots award in 2006.

 

2022 has seen Rosen engaged in performances festivals throughout Italy to promote Reawakenings on Tonos Records, a new cd of jazz classics on which he plays saxophone and sings, with Greg Burk on piano, Joe Rehmer on double bass and Fabrizio Sferra on drums.

 

Rosen is a 1987 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music.  He is fluent in Italian, speaks French as well and has thirty-plus years of experience teaching saxophone, ensembles, harmony, improvisation and ear training.  He has held positions at music schools in Milan and Rome as well as at the Tasis American High School in Lugano, Switzerland and given masterclasses at jazz festivals and conservatories throughout Italy.  Additionally, he has taught EU-sponsored courses in improvisation and harmony at the Bergamo Conservatory near Milan. Former students continue to keep in touch to express their gratitude and appreciation from towns all over Italy as well as from places as far off as Amsterdam, Las Vegas and London.  Currently, Rosen maintains a part-time teaching position at CDM, a private music school in Rovereto in Northern Italy while continuing to teach privately, give masterclasses and maintain his other activities.  On account of his linguistic and writing skills,  he has been engaged on several occasions over the years as a professional translator and editor of published works of literature and medical papers which have appeared in many international publications, including Nature.