July 2026 Check-In's

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN A SLIDE SHOW OF THE BELOW PHOTOS
or click on any photo below to view a larger image of that photo.

Please wait a few moments for the embedded
YouTube video links to load.

UPCOMING:

Family Gathering Event At
Stephen & Barbara's Vacation House
Anaheim Hills, California
Saturday, July 18, 2026, 4 PM

Stephen & Barbara's 50th Anniversary Celebration And
Stephen's 75th Birthday Party At
The Fling Cocktail Lounge, Santa Ana, California
Monday, July, 20, 2026, 4 PM - Midnight

Click here for more information.

Michael Wolff featuring Hailey Niswanger At
The 1905, Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 8:30 PM

Michael Wolff:piano, Hailey Niswanger:sax, Garrett Baxter:bass, Cory Limuaco:drums.

Michael Wolff is a renowned jazz pianist, composer and bandleader known for his virtuoso performances and innovative style. After leaving music school early to join the Latin-jazz great Cal Tjader's band in the early '70s, he spent the next two decades gigging and recording extensively. Wolff can be heard on over 21 recordings with a veritable hall of fame ranging from Tjader to Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, Nancy Wilson, Sheila E, Christian McBride, Tony Williams, and more. During this time, he even mingled with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Duke Ellington Band and the Count Basie Orchestra. In addition to appearances at esteemed global venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Birdland, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Snug Harbor and Mezzrow, Wolff has performed with and conducted over 25 symphony orchestras worldwide including The Dallas Symphony, The Fort Worth Symphony, The Berlin Radio Orchestra, and The Atlanta Symphony. He has also performed as a soloist with The Memphis National Symphony and The Pittsburgh Symphony. Wolff became a part of pop culture in 1989, when he began a five-year tenure as the musical director of the high energy house band on Arsenio Hall's groundbreaking late-night talk show. This journey led to him accompanying saxophonist and Presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992, as well as backing musical giants including Ray Charles, B.B. King, Patti LaBelle, Whitney Houston, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Al Green, James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lee Lewis and Warren Zevon. He also served as musical director for Nancy Wilson. In the summer of 2015, a grueling four-year battle with a rare form of blood cancer had the pianist-composer on the ropes and flat on his back. He fell into a coma in the lobby of a New York hospital, where the prognosis quickly moved from doubtful to death's door. At one point, the doctor asked his wife, award-winning actress, director and writer Polly Draper, if she'd signed a Do Not Resuscitate order. Through the haze of drugs and debilitating illness, Wolff lifted his head up and growled: "Resuscitate me!" His sons Nat and Alex, in the midst of their ascent as two of the most talented actors of their generation, returned home to be with their father to comfort him. They played guitars and sang at his bedside, tapping into the sweet, winsome gifts that had made the Wolffs a famous musical family nearly a decade earlier, via the hit Nickelodeon TV series The Naked Brothers Band. "When I got sick, it was tough on the whole family," Wolff says. "My wife really had to take care of me, and it was hard on everybody. "I guess it just wasn't my time," he laughs today, "So now everybody's flying free, which is great." Michael Wolff documents these highs, lows and ultimately triumphs in his memoir, On That Note: a Memoir of Jazz, Tics, and Survival. Nominated by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2023 for "Book of the Year: Biography/Autobiography", the bestseller details not only his rich musical career, but also his journey as an outsider growing up with Tourette Syndrome to near-death and triumph over cancer. Wolff often recites and riffs on sections from his powerful, adventurous and humor-filled memoir in both his solo and trio performances. Michael Wolff has covered a lot of ground musically in his career, and his latest album ventures outside the box, looking to beat-making and loops for inspiration. Sunny Day unfurls with melodies composed over Maschine beats generated with friend and producer Nicolaas tenBroek, ranging in emotion from sweet nostalgia on "Movie Night," to the pensive and sombre "Quarantine Blues," to the jaunty title track inspired by Wolff's composing spot in his sunny New York apartment and work with the great Sonny Rollins. After arranging the pieces for his Trio with bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard, Wolff and tenBroek folded in the live tracks and improvisations to create the unique and exciting mix of live acoustic and looped digital sources.His experiences also inspired him to write and record material for his latest record "MEMOIR", to be released on Sunnyside Records in spring of 2024. Prior to Sunny Day, he has released 15 albums to both critical and popular acclaim. Wolff is a recipient of the BMI Music Award, the winner of the Gold Disc Award in Japan ("Jumpstart" recorded with Tony Williams and Christian McBride), and the recipient of the Hamptons International Film Festival's award for best film score for The Tic Code. In addition to The Tic Code, he has composed the scores to many other film and television projects, such as Made Up, Dark Angel, Who's the Man, and The Naked Brothers Band. Most recently Michael wrote the score for the new Polly Draper film, Stella's Last Weekend. In addition to working as a clinician, Wolff currently serves on the faculty at New York University's Jazz Studies program, where he teaches both ensembles and private students. He is a Yamaha/Bosendorf artist.

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN A SLIDE SHOW OF THE ABOVE PHOTOS
or click on any photo above to view a larger image of that photo.

Click A Below Link For More Check-In Photos:
<<<June 2026            August 2026>>>

Close this browser tab or click here to return to my main Check-In page.