Michael Jones was born and musically educated entirely in Birmingham – winning a scholarship at 15 to study part-time at what is now the Birmingham Conservatoire, studying piano with Marjorie Hazlehurst.  He graduated in 1974 with prizes for Piano, Advanced Harmony and Musical Distinction. After graduation Michael continued his studies privately with Janice Williams, Tom Bromley, Constance Warren, and, during the 1980s, Edna Iles, with whom he worked in detail studying various Medtner piano works.

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Michael made his London recital debut at the Purcell Room in 1983 (including a Medtner sonata in his programme). Since then, he has been busy giving piano recitals, accompanying singers, choirs and choral societies, and playing for several chamber ensembles (he established his first piano trio group while still at school). In 2001 he played all 14 Beethoven Piano Trios in three concerts, and in 2002 and 2003 played both Elgar Symphonies in the highly challenging solo-piano versions by Sigfrid Karg-Elert. He played for cellist Joseph Spooner on a Dutton Epoch CD (released in February 2009) entitled ‘Romantics in England’.

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Dubbed a “musical archaeologist” by Christopher Morley in the ‘Birmingham Post’, he has spent his life, in Percy Young’s words: ‘In Search of Music’. This has meant searching for, writing about and performing works by many neglected composers. He has also published several biographical articles and is a contributor to the New Grove and the New Dictionary of National Biography.