Discography

All recordings are available to purchase through Bandcamp
LP’s, CD’s, and other related physical merch is also available through Bandcamp
Most recordings also available streaming via Spotify, Apple Music, or other major streaming platforms

Live at the congregation

Balance
April 2024

Marcus Elliot - tenor saxophone, electronics
Michael Malis - keyboards, percussion, electronics
Haruki Hakoyama - mixing and mastering engineer
Leander Hope Lemon - cover art

All compositions were composed by Micahel Malis and Marcus Elliot, except for Single Petal of a Rose, composed by Duke Ellington.

Conjure

Balalnce
December 2022
Two Rooms Records

Marcus Elliot: Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Michael Malis: Piano

Gerald Cleaver: Drums on "MRA" & "Number Four"
Chace Morris: Vocals on "Conjure" & "Serpent's Serpent"

Liner Notes by Bill Harris
Recorded January 13-16 2020 at Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor, MI
Engineered by Josef Deas and Geoff Michael
Mixed by Josef Deas
Mastered by Warren Defever

Marcus Elliot, MARCUS ELLIOT MUSIC, BMI Michael Malis, NOMALICE MUSIC, ASCAP

Special thanks to Jeff Haas for allowing us to develop this music at The Sanctuary, January 5-11, 2020

Cover: Addie Langford, The Hanging Gardens Orange Green Green [detail], 2015, acrylic collage and mixed media on gessoed paper mounted on linen 55.5 x 70.5 inches. Courtesy the artist.

From Darkness We Awaken

Michael Malis with Virago
August 2022
Made Now Music

Composition by Michael Malis
commissioned by Virago
Performed by Michael Malis and Virago.
For violin, cello, alto saxophone, prepared piano, vibraphone, and percussion
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Performed by:
Violin: Meg Rohrer
Cello: Wesley Hornpetrie
Alto Saxophone: BethAnne Kunert
Prepared Piano: Michael Malis
Vibraphone and Percussion: Sofia Carbonara
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Producer: Ben Willis
Recorded at Tempermill Studio June 6-7 2021
Recording Engineer: Erik Maluchnik
Mixed and Mastered at Big Sky Recording Studio June-September 2021
Mix and Mastering Engineer: Josef Deas
Design by Brodie McAllister
© Nomalice Music ASCAP

Imperfect Intervals

Michael Malis
August 2021
1473 Recordings

All compositions by Michael Malis
Michael Malis - solo piano
Recorded by Michael Malis, October-November 2020
Mixed by Michael Malis
Mastered by Tristan Cappel
Artwork by Michael Malis and Chien-An Yuan
© Nomalice Music ASCAP

Marginalia Vol. 2: Six Lullabies

Michael Malis
December 2020

Marginalia Vol. 2: Six Lullabies by Michael Malis, released 13 December 2020 1. First Lullaby 2. Second Lullaby 3. Third Lullaby 4. Fourth Lullaby 5. Fifth Lullaby 6. Sixth Lullaby These six improvisations were recorded in October and November of 2020, as I was preparing for the birth of my first child.

Michael Malis - Piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Roland SH-101, other electronics

All songs composed and produced by Michael Malis, © Nomalice Music ASCAP

Purchase on Bandcamp
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Social Distancing

Gnostikos
October 2020

social distancing by Gnostikos.music, released 02 October 2020 1. social distancing 4.0 2. social distancing 3.0 3. social distancing 2.0 4. social distancing 1.0 5. social distancing 5.0 Gnostikos - Social Distancing These pieces were written and recorded in the spring and early summer of 2020.

Collaborative release from Gnostikos, featuring the compositions of Zara Teicher

Zara Teicher - Composer, horn, harmonium, found objects
Michael Malis - Keyboards, melodica, objects
Kaleigh Wilder - Bari Sax, bells, drums, objects
Thom Monks - Drums, percussion, objects

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Dualisms

Michael Malis
July 2020

Dualisms by Michael Malis, released 03 July 2020 1. Five Card Draw 2. Two Devotions in Memoriam Mary Oliver, I: We Shake With Grief 3. Two Devotions in memoriam Mary Oliver, II: We Shake With Joy 20% OF ALL REVENUE FROM DUALISMS WILL GO TO SUPPORT THE DETROIT JUSTICE CENTER.

Music composed by Michael Malis

Featuring performance by:
Kaleigh Wilder (baritone saxophone)
Thom Monks (percussion)
Denzel Donald (voice)
Michael Malis (piano, electric piano)

Audio and Video by Matthew Lima
Recorded on October 18, 2019
Mixed and Mastered by Matthew Lima

Artwork by Zara Teicher

See more information here.

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Marginalia: Rhodes Solos 2016

Michael Malis
April 2020

Marginalia: Rhodes Solos 2016 by Michael Malis, released 24 April 2020 1. ONE 2. THREE Marginalia: notes in the margins. These marginal recordings have a feeling of privacy to them, written on the margins of my musical practice. They are annotations to myself; footnotes in the shadows of a developing aesthetic.

Michael Malis - Fender Rhodes electric piano, electronics

ONE recorded on 5/31/2016
THREE recorded on 6/16/2016

both recorded in the basement of my former house in Woodbridge, Detroit.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Michael Malis
Artwork by Carmen Malis King

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Three Pieces for Piano

Michael malis
March 2020

Three Pieces for Piano by Michael Malis, released 17 March 2020 1. 31114 2. 72114 3. What Story Down There Awaits Its End? I wrote these pieces in 2014, which in retrospect feels like a different lifetime.

Released March 17, 2020

Michael Malis - piano and compositions
Recorded by Topher Horn at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, Grosse Pointe, MI on November 14, 2014
Mixed by Topher Horn
Mastered by Josef Deas at Big Sky Recording Studio, Ann Arbor, MI
Cover Art by Michael Malis

Purchase on Bandcamp
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Balance

Balance
POLYFOLD
august 2017

BALANCE by BALANCE, released 18 August 2017 1. Serpent's Serpent 2. Mediator 3. Raw Materials 4. Lovely On The Water 5. August 6. Feels 7. Ceremony BALANCE is a collaborative duo between saxophonist Marcus Elliot and pianist Michael Malis.

“contemporary jazz of the highest order, a benchmark for where the genre can go.” - Detroit Metro Times
Michael Malis - piano, compositions

Marcus Elliot - saxophones, compositions
Cover art by Saffell Gardner

Purchase on Bandcamp

Lifted from the No of All Nothing

michael malis trio
Polyfold
july 2015

Michael Malis Trio Michael Malis -- piano, compositions Ben Rolston -- bass Stephen Boegehold -- drums Forward looking, compositionally motivated improvising ensemble based in Detroit, Michigan. Lifted from the No of All Nothing, released 17 July 2015 1. Power Numbers 2. The Moment 3. Parentheses 4. Chance and Intention 5.

“...an uncommonly mature and distinctive debut… The music is loose and spontaneous, alert to dynamics and textural variety while balancing formal detail and discipline with freedom.”-Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
Michael Malis - piano, compositions

Ben Rolston - bass

Stephen Boegehold - drums
Cover art by Colin McRae Liex

Purchase on Bandcamp
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Purchase digital release on my website

Secret of Begin

daher-malis duo
tool and die 001
2015

Secret Of Begin by Daher Malis Duo w/ Conrad Good, released 10 December 2015 1. I Give Too Many Kisses 2. Things That Never Burn 3. Bloody Knuckles Tape released on Tool & Die Records (TD001) Produced by the Daher Malis Duo Album Art By Thomas Bell

Michael Malis - Piano, Rhodes

Matthew Daher - Percussion

Conrad Good - Electric and Upright Bass

Rachael Ahn Harbert - Movement
Cover art by Thom Bell

Purchase on Bandcamp

Ask the Ancestors

daher-malis duo
2013

Ask The Ancestors by Daher-Malis Duo, released 16 March 2013 1. Fugacious Fecundity 2. Ask The Ancestors 3. Oh The Wisdoms They Whispered In Your Ear Improvised/Recorded 3.8.13

Michael Malis - Keyboards

Matthew Daher - Percussion
Cover art by Costa Kazaleh Sirdenis

In a supporting role

Listening for Bells

Virago
Self Release
2022

Realisms

Mark Lipson
Detroit Composers Collective
2021

BethAnne Kunert, alto saxophone
Meg Rohrer, violin
Wesley Hornpetrie, cello
Sofia Carbonara, vibraphone and percussion
Dominic Bierenga, bass clarinet
Michael Malis, piano

Listening for Bells was composed by Harriet Steinke.

Listening for Bells EP was recorded at Big Sky Recordings in Ann Arbor, MI on September 26th, 2021. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Josef Deas.

Album art by Sofia Carbonara.

 

Tracks 1, 5, 8:

Dwight Adams - trumpet
Andrew Bishop - tenor saxophone
Cliff Monear - piano
Miles Brown - bass
Jesse Kramer - drums

Tracks 2-4, 6-7:

Dwight Adams - trumpet
Rafael Statin - flute, tenor saxophone
Terry Kimura - trombone
Michael Malis - piano/keyboards
Jeff Pedraz - bass
Sean Dobbins - drums
Pepe Espinosa - percussion

Sonic Refuge

Marcus Elliot Quartet
Polyfold
2017

Sonic Refuge by Marcus Elliot, released 05 June 2017 1. Observer 2. Amphion 3. Are We Children Yet? 4. Unity 5. Rhodes "Sonic Refuge" is a compilation of compositions that have been performed by the Marcus Elliot Quartet.

Marcus Elliot - saxophones
Michael Malis — piano

Ben Rolston — bass
Stephen Boegehold — drums

All compositions by Marcus Elliot, except for Unity, composed by Michael Malis

When the City Meets the Sky

Marcus Elliot Quartet
Polyfold
2015

When The City Meets The Sky by Marcus Elliot, released 04 November 2015 1. Cries Of A Griot 2. Movement One 3. Peaks Over Mountains 4. Movement Two 5. Turning Point 6. No More 7. Movement Three 8. The Hills of Pinar Del Rio 9. Movement Four

Marcus Elliot - saxophones, compositions

Michael Malis — piano

Ben Rolston — bass

Stephen Boegehold — drums
special guest Kris Johnson — trumpet