Mike Sailors

Dr. Mike Sailors is a critically acclaimed trumpeter, arranger and educator who has toured the world as a leader and sideman. He has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, the EFG London Jazz Festival, the Tokyo Blue Note Jazz Festival, the Ravinia Music Festival, the Montreal, Chicago and Detroit Jazz Festivals as well as the NYC Winter Jazz Fest, to name a few. 

He also is a copyist and editor for the Jazz at Lincoln Orchestra led by Wynton Marsalis, The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Competition and a former copyist and editor for The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra led by Arturo O’Farrill. 

As an arranger, his work can be heard all over the world. Most recently, he has contributed arrangements for the United States Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors, Lady Gaga's "Jazz and Piano" show and for various shows on PBS, including "Jazz Tonight", filmed in Austin, Texas. 

Deeply committed to education, Sailors has presented masterclasses and workshops throughout the United States as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Let Freedom Swing” program, as well as throughout NYC’s five boroughs. In addition to his work with JALC, Sailors frequently appears as a guest artist with College and High School jazz programs, most recently with the Flint Center for the Performing Arts as a representative of Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as at Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Canada. 

At UT, Sailors leads the jazz trumpet studio, the Jazz Ensemble, teaches jazz improvisation, and arranging, and mentors students looking to create careers in the music industry.