Michael Cruse

Michael Cruse is a New York City-based jazz trumpeter, vocalist, bandleader, composer, and educator whose work is rooted in hard bop and straight-ahead jazz. As leader of the Michael Cruse Quintet, he brings a fierce, soulful voice to the tradition on stages across the city and beyond.



His credits span Broadway, film, and the world’s most storied jazz rooms. His Broadway work includes What a Wonderful World, Boop! The Musical, and Goddess the Musical, alongside projects such as Miles Ahead, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, The Color Purple, and an NPR Tiny Desk performance. Michael performs at some of the most historic and storied clubs and venues across the nation, including Smalls, Dizzy’s Club, the Blue Note, Iridium, Zinc Bar, and Scullers Jazz Club, and has served as host of the legendary jam sessions at Minton’s Playhouse.



Along the way, Michael has shared the stage with jazz greats including Roy Hargrove, Les McCann, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Jazzmeia Horn & Her Noble Force, Stefon Harris, JD Allen, Curtis Lundy, Russell Gunn, Warren Wolf, and Gregory Tardy, among many others.



A dedicated educator, Michael serves with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Education Department as a Youth Outreach leader and Band Director, and as Brass & Combo Director at Jazz House Kids in NYC. He also engages in community engagement work with the Louis Armstrong House Museum, and is a former Lecturer in Brass at Emory University. Across performance and teaching, his mission is the same: to keep the living tradition of jazz vital and growing.