Michael Stephans has led three distinct but interrelated lives. He holds a Ph.D. and two Master’s degrees, has taught at three prominent universities, and is Faculty Emeritus at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where for seventeen years he taught professional writing and created over two dozen podcasts dealing with that curriculum, Before that, Stephans was in residence at Pasadena City College in the Los Angeles area, where he developed and taught a poetry writing workshop and a popular course called “The Jazz Experience.”

A prominent jazz musician, Michael has performed and recorded with a wide array of jazz artists, including Bob Brookmeyer, Bennie Maupin, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Don Menza, Uri Caine,  Marc Copland, Drew Gress, Jay Anderson, Jerome Harris, John Patitucci, Buster Williams, Steve Varner, Cameron Brown, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Larry Koonse, Charlie Byrd, Steve Cardenas, Brad Shepik, Joe Diorio, Rick Whitehead , Bobby Bradford, Buddy Colette, Alan Broadbent, Theo Saunders, Bob Florence, Bud Shank, Phil Woods, Karl Berger, Larry Gelb, Jon Ballantyne, Chris Symer, Bob Dorough, and many others. 

Michael has also been active as an author. His first two books, Experiencing Jazz: A Listener’s Companion and Experiencing Ornette Coleman: A Listener’s Companion (both published by Rowman & Littlefield), have been praised in publications such as Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and others. An award-winning poet, he has also authored three books of poetry and fiction: Bright Size Life, Mythematics, and The Color of Stones. 

Michael ‘s newest book published by University of North Texas Press, is a multiple tribute to one of the true icons of the jazz- world, trombonist-pianist-composer/arranger, and educator Bob Brookmeyer, called On the Way to the Sky: Remembering Bob Brookmeyer. It is more than just a biography in that it offers readers insights by Michael as well as many esteemed contributors into Brookmeyer’s personal and professional life . Michael has also included three consecutive chapters which highlight Bob’s long trajectory of musical and personal growth and development, from the early 1950s through his passing in 2011.

In addition to his performance and literary activities, Michael was awarded composition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (Shapes and Visions, composed for vibraphonist Karl Berger) and the Percussive Arts Society (Downside-Up for solo drum set player).

Michael has also appeared on a number of videos produced by Smalls Jazz Club in NYC, with such jazz luminaries as Liebman, Lovano, Maupin, Marc Copland, Uri Caine, and Larry Gelb, among others. He has toured with Bob Brookmeyer and with multi-instrumentalist Bennie Maupin. As a longtime member of the Bennie Maupin Ensemble, Michael appeared in a full-length documentary produced by Maupin and filmographer Sabu Rogers, called Jazz in The Rainforest, which includes a feature-length performance by the Ensemble at the Amazonas Jazz Festival in Manaus, Brasil.