Mike Wade began playing trumpet in his pre teen years. While attending the Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington, D.C., he received a National Symphony Fellowship to study with symphony trumpeters.
He attended Howard University for one year before transferring to Central State University on full scholarship, where he received his bachelor’s in music education. Mike attended The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Mastering in Classical Trumpet for a year. He is no stranger to the titles of producer, composer, arranger, and educator.
Mike has performed and/or recorded with such artists as David “Fathead” Newman, Clark Terry, Javon Jackson, Bobby Watson, Gary Bartz, Mulgrew Miller, Rene Marie, Don Braden, Steve Wilson, Othello Molineaux, Vincent Herring, Jon Hendricks & Annie Ross, Winard & Phillip Harper, Herb Jeffries, Craig Bailey, Marc Cary, Bill Lee, Ricky Wellman, Maurice, Freddie, and Verdine White (Earth, Wind and Fire), Tom Tom 84, and Experience Unlimited (E.U.). He has performed on Black Entertainment Television (BET) Jazz Discovery show, and WOSU Jazz Voices television series. Mike’s quintet, Standard Time, was the 1997 winner of the Cincinnati Cammy award for Best Small Jazz Group. With the Mike Wade Reality Band he has opened for the jazz group BWB (Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown), Rachelle Ferrell and George Benson.
With the Famous American Trumpet Section (F.A.T.S.) he performed at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Denver, COi n 2004. Mike is planning to release several "NEW" recordings in 2016.