Born in Invercargill, New Zealand, into a musical family Mike had no option but follow a musical path. His parents Max and Ruth were heavily involved in music education, community orchestras, choirs, and the local operatic society, which they continue to be involved in today.
The youngest of four children, Mike was encouraged to play the viola to complete a family string quartet, but was drawn to the sounds of jazz from an early age, especially Billy Mays recording "Sort-o-Dixie".
Mike began on the clarinet, studying with well-known teacher and performer Murray Johnson well into his teens, before finally beginning saxophone study at the age of 17. At 19 he began working with several local pop and jazz groups and landed gigs with New Zealand music icons Midge Marsden, Liam Ryan, Ray Columbus and others.
At 21 he moved to Adelaide, Australia to begin jazz studies at the Elder Conservatorium. Mike studied with saxophonists Andy Sugg, Tony Hobbs and in his honours year, Dusty Cox. Mike began teaching at the Conservatorium shortly after graduation. During this time he has taught improvisation, small ensemble, big band, masterclasses as well as one-to-one lessons.
Mike has worked in a variety of situations in Adelaide, and with some the finest musicians in the state including; Mark Ferguson and the Marmalade Circus, Dave McEvoy, Kym Purling, and Goose. This is on top of stints in the pit orchestra in major productions such as "Shout" (the Johnny O’Keefe Story), "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe", "Guys and Dolls" (with the Adelaide Symphony), and supporting touring artists such as Tom Burlinson, James Morrison, Jerry Lewis, Mark Murphy and many others.
In 2001 Mike was the inaugural winner of The Barossa Wine Makers Jazz Scholarship. This allowed him to travel to the USA to study with jazz masters George Coleman and Rich Perry.
In 2003, Mike was awarded a scholarship to commence a Masters Degree of Music at Purchase College in New York. During this time he studied with jazz legends such as Clark Terry, Jon Faddis, Ralph Lalama, Javon Jackson, Hal Galper, John Riley, Todd Coolman, and Ray Vega. He also performed with James Moody, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Mark Turner, Steve Wilson, Adam Nausbaum, David Hazeltine, Frank Kimbrough among others.
Mike was the designated "sub" teacher at Purchase College, and had the unique opportunity to teach nearly every subject in the curriculum of the college.
Through considerable help and encouragement from close friend and mentor Jon Faddis, Mike made his solo recording debut in New York, with a stellar rhythm section comprised of Renee Rosness (piano), Todd Coolman (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums).The session was recorded by Dae Bennett (son of Tony) and produced by Jon Faddis. The result is a hard swinging record featuring some of Mike’s compositions and arrangements of standards from Joe Henderson to Thelonius Monk. It will be released in Australia shortly.
Mike is currently living and performing in Adelaide and teaching at the Elder School of Music. He currently runs his own big band that has performed with Bob Mintzer, John Hoffman, Ross Irwin and Pat Theile. He also performs with his trio "Songbook" and The Mike Stewart Collective. He is much in demand as a sideman, teacher, and clinician.
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