Michael Blieden Wolff (born July 31, 1952) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and music producer. He became known for serving as the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–94).
Wolff was honored as a Steinway Artist and obtained a Broadcast Music, Inc. award. He provided the score for and co-produced The Tic Code (1998). He also co-starred with his sons, Nat and Alex, in the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band (2007–09), earning him a BMI Cable Award for producing and supervising the series' music. Wolff was the leader of the jazz band Impure Thoughts. Reconstructed as Wolff & Clark Expedition, it is a jazz-funk group.
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Childhood and family life
Wolff was born on July 31, 1952, to a Jewish family in Victorville, California, and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Lise (Silverman) and Marvin Wolff, a medical doctor who treated Elvis Presley when the Wolffs settled in Memphis, Tennessee. Michael began studying classical piano at age eight. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Berkeley, California, where he played drums at age 12. While attending Berkeley High School, Wolff started playing piano with the University of California Jazz Ensembles under the direction of David W. Tucker. After graduating from high school, Wolff attended the University of California, Berkeley before enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles.