Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in his playing, but he added the greater harmonic freedom of McCoy Tyner and others in developing as a hard bop player and then in creating his own style, which influenced others from the 1980s on.
After leaving university he was pianist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for three years, then accompanied vocalist Betty Carter. Three-year stints with trumpeter Woody Shaw and with drummer Art Blakey's high-profile Jazz Messengers followed, by the end of which Miller had formed his own bands and begun recording under his own name. He was then part of drummer Tony Williams' quintet from its foundation, while continuing to play and record with numerous other leaders, mostly in small groups.
Miller was director of jazz studies at William Paterson University from 2005, and continued to play and tour internationally with other high-profile figures in the music until his death from a stroke at the age of 57.
Early life and education Miller was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, to parents who had been raised on plantations.Bourne, Kay (November 2, 1995) "Musician's Musician Jazz Pianist Performs in Homage to His Roots". The Bay State Banner. p. 17. He had three brothers and four sisters. His family was not musical, but they had a piano, which no one in the house could play.Dockery, Ben (September 9, 2008) "Mulgrew Miller – Stressing Conceptual Clarity" . Chicago Jazz Magazine. Miller, however, played tunes on the piano from the age of six, playing by ear. He had piano lessons from the age of eight. As a child, he played blues and rhythm and blues for dances, and gospel music in a church. His family was Methodist, but he played in churches of multiple denominations.Mergner, Lee (January 18, 2010) "Mulgrew Miller to Appear with Juilliard Jazz Ensemble in Celebration of MLK Day". JazzTimes. His principal influence on piano at this stage was Ramsey Lewis.
While in high school, Miller formed a trio that played at cocktail parties. His elder brother recommended that he listen to pianist Oscar Peterson, but there was no way of doing this in Greenwood until Peterson appeared on The Joey Bishop Show on television when Miller was about 14. After watching Peterson's performance, Miller decided to become a pianist: "It was a life changing event. I knew right then that I would be a jazz pianist"."Mulgrew Miller". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved October 30, 2013. Miller later mentioned Art Tatum and Erroll Garner as piano influences during his teenage years.Panken, Ted (2005) "Mulgrew Miller, R.I.P. (1955–2013) – A Downbeat Article and Several Interviews". (May 29, 2013) Interview transcript. tedpanken.wordpress.com. Miller reported years later that he always found that playing fast was easy, so playing slowly and with more control were what he had to work hardest on."Miller's Tale" (1993) Piano & Keyboard, p. 328.
After graduating from Greenwood High School, Miller attended Memphis State University in 1973,Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (1999) The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz, p. 152. Oxford University Press. attending with a band scholarship. He played euphonium, but, during his two years at the university, Miller met pianists Donald Brown and James Williams, who introduced him to the music of players such as Wynton Kelly, Bud Powell, and McCoy Tyner. Still at Memphis State, Miller attended a jazz workshop, where one of the tutors was his future bandleader, Woody Shaw, who stated that they would meet again in two years. They did meet again two years later, and Shaw remembered the young pianist.
After leaving Memphis State in 1975, Miller took lessons privately in Boston with Margaret Chaloff, who had taught many of the pianists that Miller admired. He later said: "I should have stayed with her longer, [...] but at that time I was so restless, constantly on the move." Miller played with saxophonists Ricky Ford and Bill Pierce in Boston. That winter, Miller was invited to Los Angeles by a school friend and decided to go, to escape the cold weather. He stayed on the West Coast for a year, playing locally in clubs and a church.
Later life and career 1976–86
Towards the end of 1976, Miller was invited to substitute for the regular pianist in the Duke Ellington Orchestra (by then led by Mercer Ellington; his father died in 1974). Miller had performed the same role for one weekend around a year earlier, and the new work was to be for only three weeks, but he ultimately toured with the orchestra for almost three years. His membership of the orchestra helped him, in the words of a piano magazine, to get "respect as a powerful, two-fisted pianist adept at delivering entrancingly lyrical and gracefully introspective runs as well as dazzling and buoyant passages".
In January 1980, Miller left the Duke Ellington OrchestraPanken, Ted (2005) "Mulgrew Miller, R.I.P. (1955–2013) – A Downbeat Article and Several Interviews". (May 29, 2013) Transcript of WKCR interview from May 4, 1988. tedpanken.wordpress.com after being recruited by vocalist Betty Carter, with whom he toured for eight months that year.Panken, Ted (2005) "Mulgrew Miller, R.I.P. (1955–2013) – A Downbeat Article and Several Interviews". (May 29, 2013) Transcript of WKCR interview from October 24, 2004. tedpanken.wordpress.com. He was then part of Shaw's band from 1981 to 1983, thereby, in Miller's view, fulfilling his destiny from their earlier meetings.Yanow, Scott "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved October 30, 2013. In 1981, he made his studio recording debut, on Shaw's United.Lewis, Alwyn and Lewis, Laurie (March 1995) "Mulgrew Miller: Interview". Cadence 21. During the early 1980s, he also accompanied vocalist Carmen Lundy,Saunders, Jon (May 7, 1981) "Carmen Lundy: Rising Star". New York Amsterdam News. p. 39."Dizzy Set to Perform in Mary Lou Jazz Concert" (December 10, 1983) New York Amsterdam News. p. 23. and played and recorded with saxophonist Johnny Griffin. Miller married on August 14, 1982."Mulgrew Miller: Obituary". Lehigh Valley Live. Reprinting from The Express Times. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
Miller was recommended by Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers,Goldsher, Alan (2002) Hard Bop Academy: The Sidemen of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Hal Leonard Corporation. and he joined the drummer's band in 1983. Initially, he struggled to fit in with Blakey dominating the rhythm section, but Miller stated that, over his period with the band: "My playing just generally matured. I don't think one single characteristic changed, but the experience certainly boosted my confidence". At times during concert performances he was allotted a solo piano spot, which Miller used to play medleys.Stokes, W. Royal (November 13, 1984) "Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers". The Washington Post. p. B4.Gelly, Dave (February 17, 1985) "Art's Jazz". The Observer. p. 25. His presence in the Jazz Messengers cemented his reputation within jazz. His recording career as a leader began in 1985, with Keys to the City, the first of Miller's several recordings for Landmark, which continued with Work! the following year. Jon Pareles' review of a solo concert in 1986 observed that Miller's playing showed the influence of Powell on some numbers and Kelly on others, but that, overall, he was developing "his own, authoritative style".Pareles, Jon (June 28, 1986) "Mulgrew Miller Plays Solo Piano Concert". The New York Times. p. 9.
Later 1986–94 After leaving Blakey in 1986, Miller was pianist in drummer Tony Williams' quintet from its foundation that year until it disbanded around 1993.Wendell, Eric "Miller, Mulgrew" . jazz.com. Retrieved December 11, 2013.Yanow, Scott "Tony Williams: Tokyo Live". AllMusic. Retrieved December 11, 2013.Feather, Leonard (January 22, 1993) "Jazz Review: Tony Williams Quintet at Catalina Bar". Los Angeles Times. Miller remained active between tours with Williams' band, in part by touring with his own groups. The first of these was formed in 1987 and named Wingspan, as, Miller explained, "sort of a dedication to the legacy of Charlie Parker – Bird, you know". It became one of Miller's main bands, enduring through changes of personnel, and featured a lot of his compositions in its performances. Another band was known as Trio Transition, which contained bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Freddie Waits. They released the album of the same name in 1987.
Miller also played on Williams bandmate Wallace Roney's first three recordings (1987–89),Emenari, Lofton (February 18, 1996) "Horn of Plenty: Wallace Roney". Chicago Weekend. p. 20. and many other albums recorded by other leaders in the late 1980s.Morton, Brian and Cook, Richard (2010) The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1,001 Best Albums. p. . Penguin. These included an album with long-term collaborator Steve Nelson,Cook, Richard, and Morton, Brian (2004) The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (7th edition). Penguin. a recording by trumpeter Donald Byrd,Yanow, Scott "Donald Byrd: Harlem Blues". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2013. comeback albums from alto saxophonist Frank Morgan, and the first of a series of releases with tenor saxophonist Benny Golson.
Miller and his family moved to Palmer Township in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania in 1989.Moser, John J. (May 31, 2013) "Influential Jazz Pianist Mulgrew Miller, 57, Dies; Palmer Resident Played with Greats". The Morning Call.Porter, Christopher (October 2002) "Mulgrew Miller". JazzTimes. The same year, he joined three other pianists in recording a CD tribute to Memphis-born pianist Phineas Newborn, Jr.Yanow, Scott "Contemporary Piano Ensemble: Four Pianos for Phineas". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2013. This group, the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, performed intermittently until 1996, often playing together on four separate pianos.Yanow, Scott "Contemporary Piano Ensemble: Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 11, 2013. In 1990, Miller traveled to the Soviet Union to appear as pianist in Benny Golson's band at the first Moscow International Jazz Festival.Minor, William (1995) Unzipped Souls: A Jazz Journey Through the Soviet Union. pp. 72, 90. Temple University Press.
In 1992, Miller also toured domestically and internationally with the New York Jazz Giants, a septet containing Jon Faddis, Tom Harrell, Lew Tabackin, Bobby Watson, Ray Drummond, and Carl Allen.Kozinn, Allan (June 27, 1992) "McFerrin Pulls the Strings, Bringing Audience to Life". The New York Times. p. 13.The Guardian. (June 4, 1992) p. 30. Miller continued to accompany vocalists, including on recordings with Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson. Starting in 1993, he also played and recorded with saxophonist Joe Lovano.Yanow, Scott "Joe Lovano: Tenor Legacy: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
The influence of Williams continued into Miller's own projects, including their compositions and arrangements: The Guardian reviewer of Miller's 1992 Hand in Hand, his first for Novus Records, commented that "it's his occasional boss, drummer Tony Williams, who has made the strongest impression on the way he organises the material. The opening 'Grew's Tune' and the bluesier numbers would slot unnoticed into the Williams library."Atkins, Ronald (August 13, 1993) "Mulgrew Miller: Hand in Hand". The Guardian. p. 27.
1995–2013