“True to his blues-tinged upbringing, he's a bop intellectual with an unabashed gift for populism.  That explains both the thundering jabs in his sparkling runs and the sleekness in his writing and arranging"  -Time Out NY

Mulgrew Miller Trio © Andrea Canter

Renowned jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller has recorded with almost every known Jazz artist in the scene, from Joe Lovano to Nicholas Payton. In fact, he remains one of the most recorded pianists in the scene today (second only to Kenny Barron), with over 400 recording sessions to his credit. Miller will appear with his trio at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago on Thursday, September 13th through Sunday, September 16th.

Mulgrew Miller professional career started, aged twenty, with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, led by the late Mercer Ellington. During his formative years as a sideman, Mulgrew also worked with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Woody Shaw's Quintet and Betty Carter's group. He was also one of the founding members of Tony Williams' Quintet.

The experience gained with such luminaries allowed Mulgrew to rapidly become established as one of the most in demand pianists in the New York scene. In 1985 Miller made his first recording as a leader for producer Orrin Keepnews's former label, Landmark. During the nineties Mulgrew developed his career as a leader of his own trios/quintets, recording an impressive series of albums for RCA/Novus.

In 1995 Mulgrew toured Europe and the US sharing the stage with fellow pianist Kenny Barron. Mulgrew has also been noticed in various all star groups, such as The New York Jazz Giants, One Hundred Golden Fingers or the early editions of Jazz at the Philharmonic Revisited. In 1999 Mulgrew started working with virtuoso bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Together they recorded Duets, a wonderful CD for Bang & Olufsen featuring the music of Duke Ellington and Jimmy Blanton. The duo became a trio in 2000, with the addition of the exuberant drummer Alvin Queen, and performed in Europe until the untimely death of Pedersen in 2005. I
n recent times, Mulgrew has been part of Ron Carter's trio, also featuring guitar wizard Russell Malone.

His latests releases on MaxJazz include: The Sequel (2003), featuring his sextet Wingspan; Live at Yoshi’s volume 1 and 2 (2004 & 2005), with Derrick Hodge and Karriem Riggins; and Live at Kennedy Center volumes 1 and 2 (2006 & 2007), featuring Derrick Hodge and Rodney Green.

On May 20, 2006, Miller was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Performing Arts at Lafayette College's 171st Commencement Exercises. As of 2006 he is the Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University.

A highly original composer, Mulgrew has moved, as an interpreter, from such influences as McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson and Wynton Kelly to become very recognizably his own man, powerful, lyrical, and imaginative.

The Jazz Showcase is located at 806 S. Plymouth Court in the historic Dearborn Station building in the south Loop. Shows at 8 and 10 pm, 4 pm matinee on Sundays. Call for ticket information, 312-360-0234;  www.jazzshowcase.com

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