Michael Benedict was born and raised in Rome, NY in 1957. He started playing the drums at age 10 and was performing professionally by age 15. He took up the vibraphone at around age 16 and shortly thereafter started to play gigs on vibes as well as drums. Michael graduated from the Crane School of Music at the State University College at Potsdam, NY in 1979 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. At Potsdam, Michael played for Milt Hinton, Marian McPartland and Frank Foster in the college jazz ensemble.

From 1979-87 Michael lived in the Capital Region of New York State working as a professional musician and private percussion instructor. During this period, he worked with groups and individuals such as John Toomey, Doc Scanlon’s Rhythm Boys, and with legendary tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose. Michael performed in most of the jazz venues in Upstate New York as well as some road gigs to places such as Resorts International Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.

Michael lived in the New York City area from 1987-90 where he played with musicians and groups including Andy Stein, Peter Malinverni, Loren Shoenberg and the Spike Jones Orchestra. Michael played at many venues in NYC including the Savoy Ballroom, Michael’s Pub, Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Tavern on the Green. During this period he joined the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and continued to play with this group on and off until 2000. With ‘Paragon’, Michael toured the United States extensively, playing concerts in numerous colleges, universities and concert halls. Some of the more notable venues have been at Lincoln Center in NYC, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., West Point Academy, Waterloo Jazz Festival and the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California. He also performed with ‘Paragon’ at the Brunknerhause in Lindt, Austria in 1997.

During the NYC period, Michael attended Rutgers University and earned his Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies in 1990. At Rutgers, Michael was an assistant to Dan Morgenstern, the Director of Jazz Studies at Rutgers and former Downbeat Magazine editor.

Michael led a Jazz Big Band from 1994 until recently when he decided to concentrate on the vibraphone. The Michael Benedict Big Band was filmed recently for a documentary film on the life of composer/arranger Gary McFarland by filmmaker Kristian St. Clair from Seattle, Washington. The band performed a chart arranged by Gary McFarland that written for a small Big Band that at the Downbeat Jazz Festival in 1965 that featured guest soloist Thelonious Monk. This performance by the MBBB is the only recording of any kind of this arrangement. Michael was also interviewed for this film. The film is starting to be featured in film festivals across the country.

Michael started playing vibraphone recently after many years away from the instrument. On June 10, 2006 he premiered his group, Michael Benedict Jazz Vibes, at Conkling Hall in Renssealearville, NY. He plans to make this a musical focus at this point in his career.