A veritable "ambassador of jazz," Professor Michael Tracy is one of America's foremost jazz educators with more than forty-five years of performing and teaching experience. In classrooms, studios and concert halls, he has developed a variety of innovative approaches to jazz education, enabling him to work with students of any proficiency. Tracy has taught and performed throughout the United States, Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Georgia, Russia, Scotland, Singapore and Wales. As a Fulbright Senior Specialist, he has worked with and advised the jazz programs at the Estonian Academy of Music in Tallinn, Estonia (2004); Tbilisi State Conservatoire in Tbilisi, Georgia (2016); and the Universidad de Las Américas in Quito, Ecuador (2018-19).
Tracy is Director of the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program at the University of Louisville School of Music in Louisville, KY. He teaches jazz saxophone and jazz repertoire and leads numerous ensembles. In addition to his duties at the university, he was a longtime faculty member of the widely renowned Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops, where he served for over forty years. Tracy has made forays into the world of recording with many CDs to his credit, including Hora Certa (2016), Surfboard (2012), Wingspan (2010), Conversations (2008), Gusting (2004), Tracings (2003) and Facets (1999). His publishing accomplishments include authoring the book Jazz Piano Voicings for the Non-Pianist and coauthoring Pocket Changes: 421 Standard Chord Progressions; Pocket Changes II: 381 Standard Chord Progressions; and Jazz Saxophone Survey: A Descriptive Analysis of 38 Saxophonists.
Tracy holds a Master of Arts in Higher Education, a Bachelor of Music in Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Louisville. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist, a D'Addario Artist (playing exclusively on D'Addario Jazz Select Reeds) and a Friend of Bambú (ligatures).
