About Michelle

With a musical journey that spans decades, Michelle Pollace has performed in a world renown Gamelan orchestra, musical theater, and various rock bands. She also co-led the world-fusion Latin jazz group Zarate Pollace Project. As solo band leader, she has released numerous CDs, EPs, and singles, with her debut album “New Beginning” gaining worldwide radio airplay and landing on a couple “year’s best releases” blog lists. But 2013 is a different time from now, and Michelle continues to release EPs and singles that are well received among streaming-service playlisters and audiences alike.

Teaching herself to read music on a handed-down Estey organ at age 9, she also began playing by ear. In high school she studied under jazz pianist Martan Mann and became influenced by legends like McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock. High school and college years were a whirlwind of musical exploration; she learned bass and guitar, joined garage bands, and played in and recorded with Lou Harrison’s renown Gamelan Si Betty (Indonesian orchestral ensemble). Her post-college career spanned Latin rock, blues rock, progressive rock, grunge, and singer-songwriter projects, and singing as chorus member in musical theater.

But Latin and Brazilian music always held a special allure, and through Latin-rock connections, Michelle met Abel Zarate, Malo guitarist and cowriter of the hit “Suavecito.” Together they became the Zarate Pollace Project (ZPP) and produced the Latin-infused "Soul Redemption" album in 2005. This experience, which included working with top-tier musicians and studios, laid the groundwork for her solo career.

Michelle’s solo debut, "New Beginning," came out in 2013 and showcased her growth as composer and band leader. Despite critical acclaim and airplay success, her music career took a backseat as she focused on family. Although her musical activities were limited at this time, she released the EP "A Latin Jazz Christmas" in 2017 and continued performing locally..

The shutdown of the pandemic left a gigless void, during which Michelle decided to explore a discipline that long intrigued her: electronic music production. This period of intense learning and experimentation culminated in her 2024 EP, "I'm Just Happy to Be Here," blending jazz, Latin and Brazilian rhythms, and electronic elements with influence from Bonobo, Jazzanova, and similar artists. Michelle drew on recent personal experiences on this EP, such as the pandemic-era family outing to a favorite beach that inspired “New Brighton.” Another song, “Alone Together,” contemplates our collective pandemic experience; it is also the result of Michelle being awarded a composer’s grant from San Jose Jazz in 2023. Coming as complete surprise, the grant made Michelle realize that people in her community still valued her artistic contributions and gave her the final push to release that 2024 EP.

Gaining creative momentum, Michelle released the EP “Bas Relief” (French for “low relief” and pronounced “Bah Relief”) a year later. This 2025 release continues to explore merging jazz and electronic music. As for the name, Michelle explains: “first, the act of making art provides relief from the chaos of the world today; second, my goal is to provide respite from the doom-scrolling and rage-baiting hellscape that the digital landscape where we connect has become; and third, that bas relief itself, a sculpting method used in making coins, speaks to the precarious state of commodified music these days. I put my face on a penny because I thought it’d be a humorous way to lament how music has been devalued by streaming services (artists make an average of 0.4 cents per stream) and generative AI.”

Looking ahead, Michelle plans to continue creating and sharing music that blends jazz, Latin, and electronic influences. With her 2024 and 2025 EP releases, she has added producing and mixing to her skillset, and she is developing skills in creating cover art (which to date has been achieved with photo compositing and digitally painting within PhotoShop) and video assets in support of her music. While the future will surely bring collaboration in all these creative areas, producing these assets herself enables Michelle to efficiently release a steady stream of music going forward.

Beyond music, she is a black belt in tae kwon do and an avid gardener. She is dedicated to lifelong learning and pursuit of creative expression.