Michael Beck is an accomplished drummer and educator currently living in Denver, Colorado. A versatile musician, Mike drums all over Colorado in a variety of genres including jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and electronica. He also leads his own band, Becktet, which has been a mainstay in the jazz/funk scene in Denver since 2005.
Michael grew up in St. Louis and began playing the drums at the age of eight. Throughout high school, Michael was active in the St. Louis jazz scene, studying with Kevin Gianino and Mike Karpowicz and playing with St. Louis greats Carolbeth True and Tom Kennedy.
He received many awards throughout high school including Outstanding Musician at the Southern Illinois University Jazz Festival in 2003, Outstanding Soloist at the Lindbergh High School Jazz Festival in 2004, the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for most promising jazz student at DeSmet Jesuit High School in 2005. Michael received a scholarship to the University of Denver for drum set performance and moved to Denver in the Fall of 2005.
After moving to Denver, Michael began intensive study with Colorado’s best jazz drummers including Mike Marlier, Paul Romaine, and Todd Reid. By his third year at Lamont, Michael was awarded the drum chair in Lynn Baker’s Lamont Jazz Orchestra and Eric Gunnison’s Contemporary Combo, the most prestigious jazz groups at the Lamont School of Music. It was also during this year that Michael began independent study with Eric Gunnison and Ken Walker.
Michael teaches privately and is also the drum instructor at the Academy of the Arts in Denver. He performs regularly around Colorado with his own band, Becktet, and as a freelance musician has shared the stage with jazz greats Donald Harrison, Javon Jackson, John Fedchock, Eric Gunnison, Greg Gisbert, Nelson Rangell, Ken Walker and Jeff Jenkins. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.
