Mike Wade, also known as “Shorty Bop”, is a professional trumpeter that can play funky grooves that make you want to swing! He began playing trumpet in his pre-teen years. While attending the Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington, D.C, he received a National Symphony Fellowship to study with symphony trumpeters. He attended Central State University on a full scholarship to earn a bachelor’s in music education. After that, he earned a Graduate degree in Classical Trumpet Performance from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Since then, he has made a name for himself as a producer, composer, arranger, and educator.
Mr. Wade has over 20 years of experience teaching at Withrow International High School, while also being a private music instructor. He is the founder and leader of three groups: The Standard Time Jazz Quintet, Mike Wade & The Reality Band, and Mike Wade & The Jazz Mafia. He has been named as one of the top ten unsigned jazz and brass players by Jazziz Magazine. He has performed and/or recorded with artists such as David “Fathead” Newman, Clark Terry, Javon Jackson, and many others. He has also performed on Black Entertainment Television (BET) Jazz Discovery show and WOSU Jazz Voices television series.
Other accomplishments include winning the Cincinnati Cammy Award for Best Small Jazz Group, being a recipient for both the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and the John Philip Sousa Award, and placing first at the Virginia State University Classical Solo Competition. His personal music features a blend of funky hip-hop, smooth jazz, R&B, and go-go.
