Mike Sailors spent nearly a decade in New York’s most well-known jazz haunts honing his chops, eventually working with some of Jazz music’s most celebrated stars and organizations, including Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as newer bands like Postmodern Jukebox and The Hot Sardines.

During his tenure with the Hot Sardines, Mike toured the world as well as the Continental US. He appeared at the world’s most prestigious jazz festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival, the EFG London Jazz Festival, The Tokyo Blue Note Jazz Festival and the Detroit International Jazz Festival, to name a few. The band also performed at the 2018 Dolce and Gabbana Spring Fashion Show in Milan, Italy, as well as served as the house band for the Turner Classic Movies Classic Cruise from 2014-2018.

In 2015, his expertise was called upon by producers from the Broadway world, most notably the show Sleep No More - an immersive theatre experience set in 1939 that relies heavily on vintage aesthetics and music from the golden era of Jazz. He remained with the show as musical director until 2018.

In 2019, Mike was offered a position in the prestigious Butler School of Music at the University of Texas. He is the Professor of Jazz Trumpet at UT, where he mentors young people who’s dream it is to tour the world and make a living playing Jazz music.

Providing music for private events and weddings has always been an area of enjoyment for Sailors. Operating in the high stakes, high stress world of private events in NYC, he maintained a thriving private event company that played at venues ranging from the Carlyle Hotel (2015 National Down Syndrome Society Gala) to Grand Central Station (2016 Common Ground Annual Gala).