A few weeks ago I was contacted by Michael Abramovich, a Côte Saint-Luc resident and saxophonist who asked if I could help promote his sax music program in our community. When we met in person soon after I told him about the dedication of a park named after former Liberal Member of Parliament for Mount Royal Sheila Finestone I had planned.
Since I had never seen him perform, except for YouTube videos, I offered him a chance to kind of audition for me and perform at the ceremony. He did just that, showing up with own sound system and truly impressing everyone in attendance with his saxophone program performance.
My friend Ted Dranias of Petros Taverna restaurants saw a clip of him and already plans to engage his services.
While Michael works full-time in information technology services, he has a flexible schedule and is excited about performing at any occasion.
Michael was born in Moldova, then part of the former Soviet Union. His first instrument was the mandolin, then guitar, bass guitar, clarinet and finally the saxophone. Playing pop music, the love for jazz started with first vinyl record of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong at age 12.
During the five years Michael resided in Israel, he played in a wedding band and performed as a one-man band, creating a vast background/cocktail saxophone music program that proved successful. In 1995 he immigrated to Canada.
Music, and particularly jazz, remains a driving force for Michael. Over the past 28 years he has never missed a Jazz Festival, meeting jazz legends like Chick Corea, Benny Golson, Lee Konitz, Jimmy Cobb and many others during “This is very inspiring to me,” he said, noting how photos with jazz masters grace the “wall of fame” of his studio.
Watch this video of him performing
His first venue as a musician was the old Hippodrome de Montréal (Blue Bonnets), where he performed during events for several years. Here in Montreal he found work in IT to pay the bills.
As a jazz saxophonist, Michael provides enthralling background music with a full band sound for any special event. He brings a completely self-contained and portable sound system, adaptable to any location and setting. He is an impressive entertainer, and solo musician, who can deliver a memorable and enjoyable experience for all types of events.
Here is another terrific video of him
Michael offers personalized wedding packages with the right pricing, matching the event demands and client preferences. He provides background scores for all wedding-related functions and boasts a repertoire of over six hours of memorized music.
Besides playing saxophone, Michael introduces to his performance EWI (an Electronic Wind instrument). This is a wind synthesizer that has 100 sounds on board and goes from emulating acoustic instruments like flute, clarinet, trumpet, guitar etc. to rich harmonics synth sounds.
Whether it is a bar or bat mitzah, wedding, trade show or corporate event, Michael will happily take your call.
Michael can be reached at: 514-487-6395 or mabramovich@hotmail.ca
