About Me
Who Is Johnny Hiland?
Michael Hill was born in Lethbridge, Alberta and moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia with his family at the age of eight. Here he attended private school until the eleventh grade. He then attended Kwalikum Secondary School in Qualicum Beach, BC, where under the instruction of Dave Stewart, he really began to focus on his playing. Only 20 minutes away from where Diana Krall (Jazz Artist) grew up, Mike got encouraged to practice by watching countless performances of her when she performed in town. He took every music program the school had to offer and won the highest honors in music at regional, provincial, national and international levels. He also won the award for Best Bass Accompaniment at the 1998 International Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival where there were over 20,000 participants. After graduating high school Hill received scholarships to Berklee College of Music in Boston and Humber College in Toronto but deceided to attend Capilano College in North Vancouver to further his jazz studies.
At the age of 19 Hill began touring with local Canadian groups throughout Canada and the U.S. including groups such as Perry And The Poorboys and Sparrow Records recording artists Starfield. In 2004, Michael Hill relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he began working with Juno Award winning Jill Paquette and Favored Nations Records artist Johnny Hiland. Shortly after moving to Nashville, Hill had the opportunity to meet one of his bass idles and was extremely fortunate to sit down to have a 2-hour private one on one lesson with Victor Wooten, where Michael started exploring different concepts on the bass.
Michael Hill has performed professionally since 1999, and has shared the stage with notables such as with Eric Johnson, Dr. John, Brad Paisley, Eric Sardinas, Dick Dale, Tom Cochrane, Al Dimeola, Michael Bolton, Brent Mason, Paul Reed Smith, Richie Kotzen, Andy Timmons, Double Trouble and The James Brown Band.
With early influences such as Earth, Wind, and Fire, Led Zeppelin, James Jamerson and John Patitucci, It’s no wonder that Hill’s distinct music style fuses rock, country, jazz and funk in such a way that he remains in demand for numerous live performances as much as recording sessions.
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