Michael Bond started playing piano when he was 4 years old. By the time he was 6, he was playing in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. After competing classically for 7 years, he began his study of jazz and improvisation. He has been mentored by artists, Stanley Cowell, Jim Ridl, Orrin Evans, and Mike LeDonne. He is a recipient of both the Arthur G Humphrey Award for Music Education and the Excellence in Jazz Performance Award for piano performance from Rutgers University. Michael has had the privilege of sharing the stage with many jazz luminaries including: the Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band, Conrad Herwig, Stacy Dillard, Lee Hogans, Curtis Lundy, Duane Eubanks, Byron Landham, Bruce Williams, Rudy Royston and many others.