Mike Flan
agan (MRF) - Performer, producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, music director, and educator, Mike Flanagan started playing saxophone at age 10 and piano at 14. As a student at Brockton High School, he arranged musical works for their award-winning concert band, consisting of over 100 students, and jazz band, while serving as a lead saxophonist. Mike also led his own groups and performed around MA. During those years, he had the great pleasure to study under his mentors, Yasko Kubota and Jerry Bergonzi.
Mike's love for music brought him to Boston's own Berklee College of Music on a performance based scholarship. In four years he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education while performing regularly in and out of school. After just two semesters at Berklee, Mike went on tour in Japan where he performed at several venues including the Blue Note in Tokyo and the Glen Miller Festival. Mike also had the great pleasure of performing alongside jazz greats such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Joanne Brackeen, Bob Moses, Andre Hayward, Tiger Okoshi, Donald Harrison and recent Grammy-winner Esperanza Spalding.
In 2010 he released his debut album, “Elevator Music” which is available on iTunes, Amazon, Limewire and more. The album was co-produced by Grammy-nominated Surefire Music Group in Lowell, MA. The sound is a hybrid of traditional straight-ahead jazz, Hip Hop, R&B and Pop. It features fantastic musicians such as Yasko Kubota, Dave Ostrem, Louie Bello, Mike “Rallye” Perry, Neil “Mista L” Letendre, Nichelle Mungo and Serius Jones.
In 2011, Mike arranged a piece for the Boston Pops (Boston Symphony Orchestra). The piece was a pop song by The Varsity Girls. The Varsity Girls performed their radio hit "Be You" with the orchestra and Mike arranged the piece for their performance.
Currently, MRF is performing throughout the East Coast as both a leader and a sideman on both sax and piano, and teaching at the Joyce Kilmer K-8 School in Boston MA.