Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller (born August 13, 1955 in Greenwood , Mississippi , † May 29, 2013 in Allentown , Pennsylvania ) was an American jazz pianist and composer .
Life
Mulgrew Miller was surrounded by diverse music from an early age. He played gospel music in church in Memphis and rhythm and blues at dance events. His brother's jazz records piqued his interest in jazz, and he moved towards jazz as a high school student with his own band playing at cocktail parties. His decisive listening experience was a television appearance by Oscar Peterson , which he saw at the age of 14 and which made him decide to become a jazz pianist. He attended Memphis State University , where he made friends with his fellow students, jazz pianist James Williams (whose compositions he dedicated an album to after his death in 2004) and Donald Brown . Together they heard more often appearances by Phineas Newborn in the Gemini, who, along with Peterson, was a formative influence on Miller. With Brown and Williams he played his music in the 1990s in the contemporary piano ensemble .
On May 29, 2013, Miller died of complications from a stroke .
Act
In 1977, after moving to Los Angeles, he became a pianist in the Ellington Ghost Band led by Mercer Ellington ; he stayed with them for three years. In 1977 he toured Europe. Before that, he stood in for their pianists as a student. In 1980 he accompanied Betty Carter for eight months (on the recommendation of Cedar Walton ) and on this occasion came into the New York jazz scene. After a short time with Johnny Griffin , he was a member of the Woody Shaw quintet from 1981 to 1983 , which can be heard at Basel 1980 and Lotus Flower . From 1983 to 1986 he was a member of Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers . He then played for seven years (1986 to 1994) in Tony Williams ' quintet, which initially brought him for a Blue Note session and with whom he played in the mid-1980s a. a. performed in Cologne .
At the same time, Miller began making recordings as a band leader, first in 1985 with Landmark (Keys to the City) . As a leader he played in both a trio and a quintet. For many years, his trio consisted of Richie Goode on bass and Karriem Riggins on drums, later with Riggins and Derrick Hodge on bass (when recording Live at Yoshi's 2004, 2005). Other members of his rhythm groups were the bassist Ira Coleman and the drummer Marvin Smitty Smith (e.g. on his debut album), as well as the bassist Charnett Moffett and the drummer Terri Lyne Carrington (e.g. on their second album Work ) and the off Memphis-born drummer Tony Reedus , with whom he played on Woody Shaw. Another long-standing project was his quintet Wingspan with (in the original line-up) in addition to Goode and Riggins Steve Wilson on alto saxophone and Steve Nelson on vibraphone, with whom he first recorded in 1987 ( Wingspan , followed by The Sequel 2002). Miller also emerged as a composer - for example, on his 1992 album Hand in Hand (with Kenny Garrett and Joe Henderson ) he played his own compositions.
Miller accompanied the singers Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson and played a. a. with Donald Byrd , Terell Stafford , Toots Thielemans , Wallace Roney , Gary Bartz (in the quintet 1987), Gary Thomas , Bobby Hutcherson , Joe Lovano .
On the occasion of the celebrations for Duke Ellington's 100th birthday in 1999, Mulgrew Miller played with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen in a duo (based on the model of Jimmy Blanton - Duke Ellington) and toured Germany. After that he could be heard at festivals with Steve Turre . They played music by Rahsaan Roland Kirk and built on their previous collaboration. In 2006 he performed with his trio at the Jazz Baltica Festival in Salzau. In 2012 the album Grew's Tune was created with Klüver's Big Band .
At William Paterson University , Mulgrew Miller (succeeding the late James Williams) was director of the jazz studies program.
Stylistic classification
Joachim-Ernst Berendt's and Günther Huesmann's jazz book classifies Mulgrew Miller into neo-hardbop , influences a.o. a. from the Coltrane - McCoy Tyner tradition. "Miller emotionalizes the classicist jazz piano with a vital attacca and a surging sense of musical highlights: impressive lively, agile lines and plump chords full of unexpected twists." Brian Priestley sees Miller as a "brilliant technician, the essential influence of the jazz piano of the 60s and 70s." Years ”. According to Richard Cook and Brian Morton , hard bop is Miller's “natural profession”.
A basic example of Mulgrew Miller's voice leading in a VI - II - V - I chord connection (in G major).
The low fifth in A-7 results in important vocal crossings at the transition to D7, with the second and fifth voices alternating in thirds and seconds. The doubling of the important tones third and seventh or just the seventh are striking. There are pianists who produce a similar sound because they use a similar vocal guide: Horace Silver , Walter Davis Jr. , Sam Dockery or Ray Charles .
Discographic notes
As a leader
| Album title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Keys to the City |
|
| Work! |
|
| Wingspan |
|
| The countdown |
|
| From day to day |
|
| Time and Again |
|
| hand in hand |
|
| With our own eyes |
|
| Getting to Know You |
|
| Radio recording |
|
| The Duets |
|
| The Sequel |
|
| Live at the Kennedy Center, Volume One |
|
| Live at Yoshi's |
|
| The Duo - Live! |
|
As a sideman
Woody Shaw
- Lotus Flower , 1982, Enja
- Live in Bremen 1983 , Elemental Muaic (ed. 2018)
With Tony Reedus
- The Far Side , 1988, Jazz City (with Bill Evans on soprano saxophone)
With Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
- Live at Kimball’s , 1986, Concord
- The New York Scene , 1984, Concord
With Cassandra Wilson
- Blue Skies, 1988, JMT
With Kenny Garrett
- Garrett 5, 1989, Bellaphon
- African Exchange Student, 1990, Atlantic Jazz
With Dianne Reeves
- That Day , 1997, Blue Note.
With Tony Williams
- Young at Heart , 1996, Columbia
With David Klein Quintet feat. Miriam Klein
- My Marilyn , 2001, Enja
literature
- Ian Carr , Digby Fairweather , Brian Priestley : Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X .
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
- Joachim-Ernst Berendt, Günter Huesmann: The jazz book . Fischer TB, Frankfurt 1991.
Web links
- Literature by and about Mulgrew Miller in the catalog of the German National Library
- Reshaping the familiar , 2006 interview with All About Jazz
- Interview 2002 at All About Jazz
- Michael Fitzgerald: discography.
- ideological interview
- Obituary in JazzTimes
- Terence Blanchard: Obituary.
Notes and individual references
- ↑ Obituary. In: the New York Times
- ^ Interview, All About Jazz, 2002
- ↑ Live at Yoshi’s , Volume 2
- ^ Message in The Jazz Line
- ↑ jazzdiscography.com
- ↑ cf. Berendt / Huesmann p. 377
- ^ Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, Brian Priestley: Rough Guide Jazz. The ultimate guide to jazz. 1800 bands and artists from the beginning until today. 2nd, expanded and updated edition. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-476-01892-X , p. 440.
- ↑ Cook / Morton's article on the album Milestones .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Miller, Mulgrew |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1955 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Greenwood , Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 2013 |
| Place of death | Allentown , Pennsylvania |