A mostly monthly showcase, DM and Company highlights NYC’s local music talents who have been shaping the live music scene for decades. This month two of the city’s most sought sessions, studio, and backing musicians take the lead and share their original music.

Scott Stein is a Brooklyn-based pianist, songwriter, arranger, conductor and music director. A 15-year veteran of the New York City music scene, he is an in-demand performer and collaborator, working in numerous genres, from rock and pop to jazz, country, musical theatre, Jewish / cantorial music and choral music. Among the highlights of his multi-faceted career are: accompanying Broadway diva Rachel York, playing keyboards for American Idol alum Constantine Maroulis’s solo and cabaret work, conducting over 300 singers from HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Chorus at Lincoln Center (in a world premiere no less), and as a member of beloved country-rockers The Ramblers, opening for Rock N Roll Hall-of-Famer Levon Helm.

Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Michael Hunter began his musical journey at the age of 4, improvising on his family’s Baldwin upright piano. Michael attended Cornell University with the intention of getting on the pre-med track and becoming a doctor. But soon after he picked up his first guitar and started writing songs he (thankfully) came to his senses, eventually transferring to the music major as he began exploring the musical world outside of the classical idiom. In addition to guitar, he taught himself drums and bass and began playing in bands of all types and genres.