Michael Vlatkovich, trombonist, composer, and arranger, is one of the leading talents among Los Angeles improvisational players. Located on the West Coast since 1973, he is an emotionally charged performer, comfortable in a variety of jazz and world music styles. Vlatkovich has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe. His improvisionally free music expresses raw power and beauty in a minimally structured format.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Vlatkovich began studying music with the school band in the third grade. He distinguished himself in high school and was awarded a music scholarship to attend the St. Louis Institute of Music. Prior to his education at the Institute, Michael took part in an intensive six week workshop with internationally acclaimed saxophonist Oliver Nelson and guest soloists, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Roland Hanna, Ron Carter, and Phil Woods. Among his fellow students were Hamiett Bluett, Joe Bowie, Julius Hemphill, and Oliver Lake.
In addition to leading his own diverse imaginative ensembles, Vlatkovich has performed with a wide array of singers and instrumentalists including Peggy Lee, Brian Setzer, Bryan Adams, Bobby Bradford, Gerry Hemingway, Rob Blakeslee, Rich Halley, among many others. The trombonist has also performed on sound tracks for a variety of television and film projects including The Mask, Jingle All The Way, and the critically acclaimed John Cassavette’s film The Tempest.
In 1981, the composer formed Thankyou Records in order to document the truly unique forward thinking musical concepts and ideas of both himself and his music collaborators. (These recordings have received critical acclaim in music publications and periodicals throughout the United States and Europe. Many of them have been selected for the lists of ten best jazz recordings.
Most recently the trombonist has been performing with his own ensembles, and co-leading Transvalue with poet Charles Britt. Vlatkovich is also a regular member with the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble and Rob Blakeslee Quartet.
12 responses to “Michael Vlatkovich”
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(poem for Michael’s new website)
imagine six trains running
each with a trombonist
on board playing a half-diminished chord
out the window
while the engineer
is conversing with Seth
and
Octavianus is waving
green & blue flags
from the caboose
and
and an encampment of
enlightened hoboes
at the top of the bend
cheer them on
and in the diner car
sits a seventh trombonist
enjoying a bowl of corn flakes
soaked in grape juice
admiring his new lime-green tennis shoes
parked on the table across
from him still in the box
with black triangles–mark weber
1oct07 -
michael
pierre
vlatkovich
sometimes
i can
hear him
say that
on his
trombone
& don’t
tell me
that vlat
kovich
can’t make
a trombone
talk
i’ve heard
him make
one singTodd
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SOME OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS LISTENING TO MICHAEL VLATKOVICH
Michael travels all over the U.S. playing wherever and anywhere — January 2007 found him in a little neighborhood pizza joint in Albuquerque playing with Mark Weaver’s Brassum — on one of Michael’s appointed solos he grabbed that banged-up tin pie pan that he carries around and slapped it onto the bell of his horn and started making the most gawd awful sounds ever emanated from a trombone I couldnt help but sneak a peak at the two New Mexico Symphony Orchestra musicians in the audience — a trombonist who’s a fan of Michael’s work, and a French horn player — and both these wonderful girls had horrified but delightful smiles on their faces, as Michael jerked this positively horrid sound (the ants came out of the wall to see what all the racket was) into a solo built like a house, constructed
of it’s own logic, a logic unto itself, inherent upon only its own laws, knocked together, bent nails, recycled rusty hinges, assembled only to exist for itself, purely honest — a magnificent display —Similarly, several years ago at the Bing Theatre at the Los Angeles Museum of Art on Wilshire Blvd next to the LaBrea Tar Pits, a concert 20th year celebration for the existence of 9 Winds Records, a huge large (30 piece?) Vinny Golia ensemble was cooking up a few things, and when it came to Michael’s solo, this huge lumbering band was boiling, and Michael slowly and meticulously, and very deliberately constructed one of the most magnificent jazz solos I’ve ever heard — he’d lay down a phrase or two, then stop to listen (the band had no stage monitors, so he had to stop to hear what was going on, and decide how to proceed) then add another line, then stop and listen, then add another, and as this went on, the members that weren’t playing were all one by one slowly turning toward Michael because everybody knew something was happening, I remember saxophonist Bill Plake staring in awe as Michael built this architectural ediface of complete pure logic and lyricism and grandeur, to this day I get goosebumps remembering it —
And another time, when he was doing a studio over-dub session for me, at Quincy Studios, we needed him to tidy up a the Bubbadinos “Buttons & Bows” track — we needed an ending (the Bubbadinos had sorta destroyed the ending on the original take) and so, Michael stood at his mic as Quincy readied him for a “punch in” — Michael took one pass, and then said, “No, give it to me again,” hardly with less than ten seconds pause and he nailed it on his second pass with one of the most astonishing moments in Bubbadino history, I LOVE that track, BUT he wasn’t done! In 1949 or was 1950 Dinah Shore had a hit with “Buttons & Bows” (in 1950 Charlie Parker quotes the melody in Sweden!) so Michael adds the television commercial from the 60s “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet” phrase as a tag, that Dinah made famous. What a guy! *(see Zerx 047)
mark weber
6oct07
Albuquerque -
Hello Michael
From the first rain-to-snow night this season, in Denver Where we are suddenly all about baseball (???) Your website is beautiful I have to go hold down the roof now. It’s blowing like mad Always
jeant f. deer -
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Thanks for supporting Michale’s music.
Since you are interested in Michael you might want to look at the TRANSVALUE web site…
http://www.transvalue.info -
Love your website.. love your middle name! How excellent you are! Albakerkee is too hot for breath this summer.. so come back soon and bring the air with you..
love,
Dudessa de Albuquerque -
You can now check out Michael’s complete THANKYOU RECORDS Catalog at:
http://www.thankyourecords.com/
Chuck Britt
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Michael, Kirt Peterson here. Hope you’re well. Miss playing Zippy, and others. Call me to play when it’s right. Please.
thanks in advance
KP -
Hans: This is great, but there’s no mention of Rich West, percussionist, who will be playing with us. Mayube that’s my fault — I thought I sent you info. about him. I will find something quick and email it off to you today.
Dottie Grossman
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Michael Vlatkovich?
you mean Michael PIERRE Vlatkovich!yeah, I know him
did three 10,000 mile tours from Los Angeles to Vermont and Canada and back
3 different times, 3 consecutive years1st time with Bill Plake, and Anders Swanson, myself and MPV
tenor, bone, bass, cg2nd time, same folks add Rob Blakeslee
tenor, bone, bass, cg and trumpet and flugelhorn3rd time – switch Michael Bisio for Anders Swanson and add Vinny Golia to the mix
VG played Bb clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinetAnthony Braxton came to see us in Middletown Connecticut
“Why don’t I know who you are Mr. Vlatkovich??”– Braxton
I have had the privilege of playing Michaels music
and making music with Michael
both are, usually, pretty damn enjoyablethe travel conditions may leave something to be desired but
THE MUSIC
that thing that we live and breathe for is full of INTENT and joyful HONESTYfunny thing about intent and honesty is that
you can’t practice it
you can’t buy it
AND
you can’t FAKE ITit either is
or it ain’twith Michael I would say that it is truth = that which always is
and there is not a lot of truth in this world
or any to write about anywayREVIEWS
Michael always gets good reviews
alwaysI have made music with him as
duo, trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet, nonet
all usually WITHOUT A NETand despite trends
real and/or perceived and/or perpetuated
the music keeps coming AND growing“Youre not going to play that under my solo are you?”
BILL PLAKE“Tacet?, I thought it said Take It”
LOU GONZALEZ“You can’t play this on a trombone”
BRUCE FOWLER“Michael should be canonized for doing what he does”
HARRY SCORZOAMEN BROTHER
AMEN!
cgMICHAEL PIERRE VLATKOVICH STUFF
http://michaelvlatkovich.wordpress.com/MICHAEL VLATKOVICH QUARTET
LIVE AND IN LIVING COLOR ON THE NEThttp://www.mediasanctuary.org/category/movie-subject-tags/michael-vlatkovich-quartet
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