Andrew Bishop, Chair of Jazz & Contemporary Improvisation and Professor of Music at University of Michigan, will serve as the first Educator in Residence at the 31st Michigan Jazz Festival on July 19, 2026.

 

A versatile saxophonist, clarinetist, flautist, composer, improviser, scholar, and educator, Bishop’s work bridges jazz, contemporary classical music, and creative improvisation. In addition to his role at the U-M, he also teaches at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Praised for combining “a jazzman’s fire and flow with a rigorous compositional sensibility,” Bishop has earned national and international recognition as both a performer and composer. A dedicated educator, he has received multiple teaching honors and is a Conn-Selmer and Vandoren artist.

 

Bishop’s recordings as a leader, including De Profundis, Time and Imaginary Time, and The Hank Williams Project, have received acclaim from major jazz publications and critics. Over the course of his career, he has collaborated and performed with artists including Geri Allen, Kenny Burrell, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tyshawn Sorey, and Clark Terry, and has appeared on more than 50 recordings as a sideman. As a composer and arranger, he has received more than 40 commissions and awards from organizations including ASCAP and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In his role as Educator in Residence, Bishop’s presence will be felt throughout the Festival day. In the morning, he will conduct a pre-festival clinic at 10:00 a.m. for all Future of Jazz student ensembles, listening to bands and offering feedback and mentorship. He will then rehearse with the MJF All-Star High School Jazz Band as it prepares for its afternoon performance. Bishop will also appear as guest artist with the ensemble during its 2:00 p.m. performance in the Big Band Room, where he will be featured as a soloist on several selections. He will receive public recognition shortly before the performance.

 

At 4:00 p.m., Bishop will join the Duncan McMillan Trio for Dennis Tini’s Playing With the Pros clinic, working publicly with three young jazz musicians. He will conclude his day at the festival as a guest artist with the Jeff Trudell Jazz Orchestra during the orchestra’s 7:30 p.m. performance on the Big Band Stage.