Born: May 2, 1976 Primary Instrument: Composer/conductor
MEECO “Grasp of idiom and phrasing and singular feel for writing material sensitive to tone and color.”
(Latin Jazz Network)
“Transboundary, musicality and sensitivity”
(All About Jazz)
These are just but a few of the accolades describing the talents of the German-born, producer/composer and citizen of Paris, France - “Meeco” aka Michael Maier.
Meeco’s music is first and foremost an emotional thing, for while at the piano, Meeco lets his feelings flow in order to create the soundtrack that corresponds with the pictures of his mind. Consequently, his work is intimate, fragile and introspective.
Being the producer of his most recent jazz albums, “Amargo Mel” (Connector Records, Germany 2009) and “Perfume e Caricias” (Connector Records, Germany / Spectra Jazz, U.S. 2010), Meeco focuses on the interpretation of his songs in order to achieve the very best results. While recording these works, he never allowed the musicians to rehearse and insisted that his songs be recorded live to capture artistic magical moments.
At the age of thirty-four, Meeco has worked and recorded with some of the most famous jazz musicians in the world, such as Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Hubert Laws, Buster Williams, Eddie Henderson, David “Fathead” Newman, James Moody, Vincent Herring, Cedar Walton, Charlie Mariano, David Friedman and many others.
As a young child, Meeco was heavily influenced by his father who played classical piano, thereby making it completely natural to follow in his progenitor’s footsteps. Beginning lessons at 6 years old, and after several years of studying classical music, Meeco, sought other musical outlets. It was after a friend introduced vintage Ella Fitzgerald, Horace Silver and McCoy Tyner recordings, that he became enamored with jazz music.
Highly inspired and motivated, he imitated the sounds he heard on the records, but to no avail found he needed more experience with jazz music seeking piano and theoretical study with the first of his mentors, pianist and producer Marco Meister (producer of German electro group Terranova). With Marco, Meeco gained not only musical skills, but invaluable studio experience producing his own music and professional recordings of rhythm and blues singer, Pam Knight (Spike) of Philadelphia.
Meeco met his second mentor New York pianist/singer Bob Lenox (RIP) quite by accident. Lenox, who at the time lived in Berlin, Germany working as a staff writer for Warner Bros. Records and performing with artists such as Esther Phillips, Pee Wee Ellis, Garland Jefferies and others, became a teacher and close friend. It was through Bob Lenox that Meeco realized that the only important thing in music, whether composition or pianistic skill, was creating the right “feeling”.
It was with the knowledge gained by these two mentors, that Meeco quickly gained a reputation as R&B producer for some of Berlin’s finest working musicians including Della Miles (singer for Whitney Houston), Ingrid Arthur (singer of the Weather Girls), Loomis Green (guitar player of Eartha Kitt and others), Billy Allen (former bass player for Cameo) and many others.
In 2002, Meeco wrote a song for the major German motion picture “Soloalbum” written by Benjamin Stuckrad Barre and to this day with his most recent successes, he is fast being recognized as a respectful, critically acclaimed producer and composer joining the stage alongside today’s greatest jazz talents.
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