BACHELOR OF MUSIC IN CLASSICAL GUITAR PERFORMANCE.
POST STUDIES IN JAZZ, FLAMENCO, BRAZILIAN AND CUBAN MUSIC
STUDIES IN CUBA OF THE CUBAN TRES
FOUNDER-DIRECTOR OF CUBANISMS
MEMBER OF ENSEMBLE IBERICA/ SLIM HANSON AND THE POOR CHOICES
Internationally known for his diverse range of musical genres, having a very unique style of interpreting the guitars, harmonizing with beautiful melodies. Each one of his phonograms takes us to a magnificent promenade from Jazz to Cuban, and Brazilian music. His very distinctive interpretation of the Cuban Tres (native Cuban guitar), and his introduction of the instrument to different styles of music, have made Michael stand out as one of the foreign Treseros, with more recognition in Cuba and around the world.
Michael McClintock graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City Music Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music in classical guitar performance in 2006. At the conservatory, Michael studied under the classical guitarist Douglas Niedt.
His first professional musical project was with the Manos Rojas School of Flamenco in Kansas City where he played with, among others, Beau Bledsoe. Bledsoe introduced Michael to the nuances of Flamenco and Argentinean Tango. In 2007 Michael, with dancer Aimee Hughes and guitarist Jarrod Stephenson, formed an independent Flamenco group, Alma Flamenca, which played in the Kansas City area and toured throughout the Midwest.
In 2010 Michael and Jordan Shipley created Mistura Fina to perform authentic Brazilian folk and jazz music. Their work had struck a chord in the Kansas City Jazz scene and their Latin Jazz sound resonated with a wide array of groups. Beside McClintock and Shipley, Mistura Fina has included Kansas City jazz masters such as Shay Estes, Rod Fleeman, Matt Otto, and Stan Kessler. This experience also gave Michael the chance to be part of the Brazilian project directed by Shay Eastes “Arara Azul.”
In 2012 Michael alongside fellow guitarist Jarrod Stephenson and percussionist John Currey formed the group Broken String which artfully uses traditional North American Jazz, Spanish Flamenco, and Brazilian music among other styles to create a wide and authentic exploration of some of the world’s more intriguing music.
Michael served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Jazz Society in 2013 and saw his role there as being to serve as a bridge between the established jazz community and a younger more experimental jazz aficionado.
In 2013 Michael visited Cuba for the first time and fell in love with Cuban music and its native instrument the "Cuban Tres". His musical career acquired a different path since then. Just a year later Michael was already performing the instrument professionally in the USA and started to establish his name as a virtuoso "tresero" around the world.
Michael has been studying the instrument in his several visits to the island with 2 of the most iconic treseros nowadays: Doctor Efrain Amador, titular professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, and with Cesar Echevarria (El lento), who has been part of the most prestigious traditional bands in Cuba.
Since 2013 Michael has been part of Ensemble Iberica, a nonprofit performing arts organization directed by Beau Bledsoe, performing the music of Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and the colonial Americas. The Ensemble features extraordinary musicians from classical, jazz and folk music traditions both locally and from around the world. It was with Ensemble Iberica that Michael started to introduce the Cuban Tres in different styles of music such as Jazz, Fado, Tango, Bossa Nova, Ginga, Flamenco, receiving great acceptance not just in the USA but particularly in Cuba.
As part of Ensemble Ibérica Michael has shared the stage several times with the Grammy award winner Mireya Ramos and with The Texmaniacs, also with other remarkable artists such as Alfonso Cid, Natalie Pires, Nanny Assis, Hermon Mehari, Matt Otto, Rodrigo CostaFelix, Marta Pereira Da Costa, Antonio Andrade, among others.
In 2016, Michael and his wife Dálida T. Pupo Barrios, founded the cultural project “Cubanisms”, to bring more awareness towards Cuban culture in general and, connecting people from both countries through music and art. The project includes travel-guided services to Cuba, and Michael’s music ensemble with a repertoire based on Jazz fusion with Cuban and Brazilian rhythms. The ensemble is directed by Michael and his Cuban Tres.
Cubanisms released its debut album “Acento Cubano” (Cuban accent) in October 2017 and, "Trilingual" in 2019, both albums got great acceptance and compliments from the USA, Colombia and Cuba. Their discography opened the doors of competitions such as Cubadisco and Festivals such as Jazz Plaza Festival for the band. The couple is working on original material to record their 3rd album.
In 2018, Michael was invited to participate for the first time in the Jazz Plaza International Festival in Havana, Cuba, sharing stage with Janio Abreu & Aire D' Concierto, Victor Goines and Ivan "Melon" Lewis. As part of this event the Cuban record label Bismusic released a DVD. Michael was accompanying jazz compositions in Changui and Nengón arrangements (Cuban rhythms) with his Cuban tres. The song featuring Michael has been selected by the record label to promote the album on Cuban National Television to this day.
Michael has been nominated by The Pitch "Best Musician KC 2018 and 2019", and his band "Cubanisms" has also received a nomination for "Best Local Band KC 2018 and 2019".
In 2019, Michael received another invitation to participate at the Jazz Plaza International Festival in Cuba, this time with his band Cubanisms, having 2 performances in some of the most important music venues on the island, the Bertolt Brecht Cultural Center and the Cuban Art Factory. Michael will be back in this internationally known Festival in January 2024, an album/DVD will be filmed live from his concerts by one of the Cuban record labels. Michael will have this time as a special guest Mireya Ramos (Grammy winner).
Michael has also been part of the band Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices, since its foundation. This musical project is a new Country and Western act performing quintessential honky tonk classics and original songs. Among their discography is worth mentioning the collaboration with Grammy Winner Mireya Ramos, for the album "Sin Fronteras", released in 2023, which was considered for a Grammy nomination. This album collaboration counts 25 musicians, other guests were Los Texmaniacs (Grammy winners), Calvin Arsenia, Flor de Toloache (Grammy winner), Asdru Sierra, among others.
Since 2020 Michael has been releasing some of his original compositions, beautifying us in a journey of his very diverse repertoire and musical career. His musical propositions have been a delightful gift to his listeners.
At the same time, Michael has been a very passionate music instructor for almost 20 years, having great recognition internationally since the creation of his Youtube channel and online lessons for a closer approach to Jazz, Brazilian rhythms, and introducing the Cuban Tres to the international community.
In 2023 Michael relocated to Paris, France to start a new path of his musical career.
Michael's career has been nonstop since the very beginning, it feels like every period of his life comes with new surprises for his followers and lovers of his musical proposal.
