Professor Michael Dease is an award-winning trombonist, composer, multi- instrumentalist and educator from Augusta, GA. He was recently chosen as the winner of the 2021 DownBeat Magazine Critic’s Poll for Trombonist of the Year. Last year he was named the JazzTime’s Critics Poll as Jazz Trombonist the Year and received critical acclaim for his latest recording for Posi-Tone Records, Give It All You Got. He has been featured on 3 GRAMMY-winning recordings with Alicia Keys (2008) and Christian McBride (2011,2018). He presented his latest research project to the MSU Board of Trustees on October 29, 2021.