Elevation: An Awesome Philadelphia Party Band
Mike Jarosz was born and raised in north New Jersey and moved to Philadelphia in 1997 to attend college. Mike holds a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies and a Bachelors degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of the Arts. During his time as an aspiring musician, Mike established connections and relationships with many talented musicians in Philadelphia. These connections, in addition to his reputation of a talented and well respected musician, later helped him choose the top talent for his band, Elevation (formerly All About Me).
After graduating college, Mike spent a decade performing and recording with some of the most well known pop artists in the world, in addition to performing with local Philadelphia bands and musicians. In 2003 he had the rare opportunity to tour with trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson. In 2004, Mike was invited to play trumpet with the house band at T.S.O.P. in the Atlantic City Tropicana, performing 2 shows 7 nights a week for several months. He again had the opportunity to connect with some very talented professionals from his field.
In 2005, Mike was one of five trumpet players in the nation selected to attend the prestigious Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, CA. Mike established close relationships with professional musicians in the LA recording and performing industry. In September of 2005, Mike and his soon to be wife Elena, embarked on a joint venture combining Elena’s business and marketing background with Mike’s music connections and experience. Soon after, Elevation band was born.
In the following year, while building Elevation, Mike continued to perform with pop artists. He had the privilege to play trumpet at Aretha Franklin’s birthday party in Detroit. He also performed with LL Cool J at the Essence Festival in Houston, TX as well as a VH1 performance in New York. Mike’s friendship with LL Cool J’s music director led to more work with LL. He not only recorded on, but also composed music for his album “Exit 13.” When the album was being recorded, LL’s producer asked Mike to find him the best musicians in Philadelphia to record on many of the album’s tracks. Having full confidence in the new Elevation band, Mike asked them to perform and the record was a huge success. Mike’s experience with LL Cool J transcended onto perfecting the Elevation showmanship.
As a Jersey native, Mike was especially pleased to be part of the Frankie Valli/Jersey Boys phenomenon. He performed numerous shows with Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons and was recommended by their music director to join the original Broadway cast of Jersey Boys (aka the Midtown Men), in touring all over the USA and Canada. The tour quickly became very popular, drawing huge crowds with numerous weekly performances. As a result, Mike had to regretfully withdraw his participation in order to stay dedicated to Elevation in Philadelphia. He was excited to bring his experience from the tour to the Elevation band performance.
Other works by Mike include arranging a song for Jennifer Lopez, which she later sang along with at Mark Antony’s 40th birthday party; writing music for and playing trumpet on Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances” album; recording trumpet on Beyonce’s “A Woman Like Me” song; recording trumpet on R. Kelly’s “Happy People” album; recording trumpet on Will Smith’s “Lost & Found” album; recording trumpet on the “Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia Live In Concert” DVD filmed live at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ; performed with Los Lonely Boys at the 2008 Farm Aid concert.
All throughout having these amazing experiences, Mike continued to strengthen and perfect the Elevation band and its position within the Philadelphia wedding and private event market. Mike enjoys outstanding relationships with many caterers and event planners in the Tri-state area.
Mike currently resides in Haddon Township, NJ with his wife Elena and daughter Sofia.
