Michael Kanan hails from Boston, Massachusetts where he first began to play the piano at age 7. He started improvising at the keyboard early on, and by age 10 he was listening to jazz. His first instructor was pianist Harvey Diamond, a student of jazz innovator Lennie Tristano. During his years at Boston College, Michael had the opportunity to perform with several jazz greats including Tal Farlow, Lee Konitz, Al Cohn, and Alan Dawson. After graduating college and doing some freelance work around Boston, he moved to New York in 1991 to study with another Tristano student, the pianist Sal Mosca. He established himself in New York, playing and recording with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, and Jorge Rossy, among others. He also developed a growing reputation as a vocal accompanist. In 1996, he joined the band of legendary singer Jimmy Scott, touring the US, Europe, and Japan and recording 4 CDs. In 2001, Michael became the accompanist and arranger for one of today's most celebrated vocalists, Jane Monheit. With Ms. Monheit's group, he has toured all over the world, made several recordings and TV appearances. Since 2024 Michael has been the main accompanist for another vocal star, Stella Cole. With Ms. Cole’s group he has toured the US and Asia, and has made several recordings.

Michael can be heard in New York with his trio featuring guitarist Greg Ruggiero and bassist Neal Miner. The group often performs at Mezzrow, the famous Greenwich Village club, where they recorded two live CDs. The group also performs at The Django (in the Roxy Hotel), and Birdland. The trio also performed twice at Weill Hall (the recital room at Carnegie Hall) as part of the Sophia Rosoff Series presented by the Abby Whiteside Foundation. As a sideman Michael has worked all over New York at venues large and small, including The Blue Note, Birdland, Iridium, Dizzy’s, Smalls, Mezzrow, Fat Cat, and many others. For 10 years Michael has had a weekly gig at Arturo’s - another legendary Greenwich Village spot. He has accompanied horn players like Warren Vaché, Ted Brown, Larry McKenna, Joe Magnarelli, and vocalists like Annie Ross, Lucy Yeghiazaryan, Stella Cole, and Gabrielle Stravelli.