MIKE CATALANO launches his latest album, A TRIO AFFAIR, in September 2026, capping off a trilogy of New York and Brazilian-influenced jazz that began with A Rio Affair and A Manhattan Affair.
Catalano, known for his original music on Fox television programs, was born in Long Island, New York. The son of an NYPD chief and an Australian war bride, he began studying classical piano at age seven. After ten years of private study, he began playing in popular bands on the Long Island circuit. He continued playing in piano bars and clubs while studying music theory and composition.
At college he began analyzing the music of composers like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Bill Evans and Antonio Carlos Jobim. He began composing instrumental jazz music. He soon was seeking out New York City's top session musicians for his early recordings. His first step was working with producer Dean Bailin (Rupert Holmes - Escape / The Pina Colada song). Mike continued his journey to find more top-flight NYC musicians in the various clubs in the city. One memorable club was Mikell's on the upper west side where he met Blue Lou Marini (Woody Herman, SNL, Blues Brothers, BST, Zappa, Dr. John), Steve Gadd (Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Steely Dan, etc.), Eddie Gomez (Bill Evans, Steps Ahead, etc.) and others. In the village at Bradley's, which was a piano duo jazz bar, he met jazz bassist Ron McClure. He invited Lou and Ron to record some of his new compositions with Bailin and also drummer Richard Crooks.
The music of Antonio Carlos Jobim had a profound influence on Catalano and led him to travel to Brazil to record his own music in Rio de Janeiro. It was in Rio that he met bassist Nico Assumpcao, guitarist Ricardo Silveira and a group of percussionists led by Mestre Marcal. Even more significantly, this was where Mike met Jobim in the legend's local lunch restaurant, Plataforma. There is where they struck up a friendship and the master himself acknowledged that Catalano had found some of the best musicians in Brazil. Impressed with Mike's recordings, Jobim encouraged him to keep recording in Rio and to follow his inspiration to somehow combine the groove of New York City jazz with the rhythms of Rio. With the support of Assumpcao and Silveira, Mike began flying back and forth between Bailin's studio in New York and studios in Rio. It was a fine array of talent rounded up, step by step, to support Mike's piano and original music. In New York, there was Dean Bailin's guitar, "Blue Lou" Marini, Alan (Mr. Fabulous) Rubin, along with Grammy-winning trumpeter Randy Brecker, Cornell Dupree, Mark Egan, and Steve Gadd. By the time the recording was completed, more Brazilians had joined in: Toninho Horta, Armando Marcal (father and son), Carlos Bala, Andre Tandetta, Maucha Adnet, Lizzie Bravo, and Cafe. The result was his debut album, A Rio Affair, released on Polygram in Brazil. From New York funky groove tunes like "Groovin Along" to bossa-esque tunes like "The Reality," the album was well-received and got a lot of airplay in Brazil and Japan.
Mike always had a fascination with movie and TV theme music. He'd dabbled in the television side after college, composing and playing some local cable TV themes and jingles. Now in New York City with A Rio Affair in his pocket, Mike met the colorful, legendary news reporter Steve Dunleavy who made his mark at the New York Post and had just launched a television career with the Fox Television series A Current Affair, hosted by Maury Povich.
Dunleavy, as it turned out, was a big fan of Antonio Carlos Jobim, and invited Mike to score and perform the long form dramatic stories presented on A Current Affair. The music, which included original songs, was so successful that Mike began to score ALL of the segments for the daily series—all the major stories that put that show on the map. Most popular and far-reaching was the infamous Preppie Murder case. As the show reached the top of the ratings, Mike gained well-deserved recognition for more than two hundred pieces of theme and underscore music for "A Current Affair" and other shows, including "The Reporters", "Good Day New York", "Fox News", and "Carol Jenkins Live".
In the mid-nineties, Mike started the Mike Catalano Group, with his New York contingent, Dean Bailin, Chris Parker, Mark Egan, and Blue Lou Marini as the core band, and other heavyweights. Lew Soloff, Alex Foster, Donald Harrison, Tom Barney, Big Chief Donald Harrison and Toninho Horta were among those who appeared with the band from time to time. It was in this period that drummer Chris Parker introduced Mike to bassist Will Lee, well known for his work with the Brecker Brothers, Horace Silver, Pat Metheny and the David Letterman TV Show band. Lee subsequently co-produced Mike's second album in the trilogy, A Manhattan Affair.
A Manhattan Affair also featured performances from Mike's favorite New York City musicians, including producer and arranger Rob Mounsey (Steely Dan, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Rihanna, Michael Franks, Natalie Cole, Aaron Neville, Flying Monkey Orchestra), George Whitty, Chuck Loeb, Peter Erskine, Steve Gadd, Randy Brecker, Blue Lou Marini, Jeff Mironov, Bashiri Johnson, and Shawn Pelton. There were also very special guest appearances by jazz great Bob James and legendary Brazilian composer and performer Ivan Lins, who sang one of Mike's very favorite Jobim tunes, "Dindi" (both the English and Portuguese versions). New York Post Columnist Steve Dunleavy contributed the liner note for A Manhattan Affair CD which Steve aptly titles "New York Toast". Catalano and Will Lee went on to co-executive produce an album which Ivan Lins was producing for Brazilian singer Jane Duboc. The album was called "Lady Jane" for the Jam Music Label in Brazil.
Catalano founded Catman Records Inc. with the intent of putting New York City jazz back on the global map when he launched the long-awaited CD A Manhattan Affair. He produced his own Mike Catalano Manhattan Affair Jazz Fest, which celebrated twenty years of Mike Catalano's professional music life. Joining him in his Jazz Fest were a stellar Mike Catalano Band: Will Lee, Tom Scott, Omar Hakim, Bashiri Johnson, Rob Mounsey, Chuck Loeb, and Trumpeter Lew Soloff. Catalano made his international Jazz Festival Debut at the Rochester International Jazz Festival in 2009. Manhattan Affair also was released in Japan, this time with the Videoarts Music Label.
In 2025, Catalano released a collection of music inspired by his work in Film and TV music called "Mike Catalano, Themes and Dreams, Cinematic Music Vol. 1". Mike continues writing music for film and television for Mike Catalano Music's diverse client base. In 2010, he produced and orchestrated music for a dramatic play, Brooklyn USA, at the Write Act Theater in Los Angeles. The revival of the 1940 work was directed by T.J. Castronova and produced by Rico Simonini.
Mike Catalano lives in Long Island, New York about thirty minutes from Manhattan. Mike enjoys skiing, photography, videography and boating in the Long Island and New York City waters. He speaks his native English as well as fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and a bit of Russian.
Mike Catalano is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.