There’s little in the world of jazz that compares to the view and ambience of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s small club space, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. There’s also little in the world of jazz piano that compares with the dazzling elegance of Mulgrew Miller. Thus an incomparable week of music awaits the jazz cognoscenti in Manhattan when Mulgrew Miller brings his Wingspan ensemble to Dizzy’s, November 13-18.
Mulgrew Miller has enjoyed a thirty-year career atop the pool of pianists influenced by legendary Oscar Peterson and the great but under-rated Phineas Newborn. Growing up in Greenwood, Mississippi, young Miller was immersed in gospel and blues, playing gospel at church and blues and R&B for dance bands. He also studied classical piano and formed a trio while in high school, but did not really appreciate jazz until he saw Oscar Peterson perform on television. Said Miller in an interview with All About Jazz, “When I saw him, I realized there was a way to do something with music -- and do it with integrity and in a way that demanded virtuosity but wasn't classically oriented.” Pivotal to Miller’s transition to jazz was his studies at Memphis State University with Donald Brown and James Williams, pianists who would later work with Miller in the late 80s-early 90s as part of the Contemporary Piano Ensemble (along with a very young Geoff Keezer and Harold Mabern), dedicated to the music of Memphis’ native son Phineas Newborn. With Williams and Brown, Miller often caught Newborn’s sets at the Gemini in Memphis. “So that's where I really began to seriously learn jazz,” he notes.
One of Mulgrew Miller’s earliest jobs was as pianist for the Mercer Ellington Orchestra. Then Cedar Walton introduced Miller to Betty Carter, and he moved to New York, spending the next 8 months with the great vocalist/educator. Following his tenure with Carter, Miller performed with Woody Shaw, Johnny Griffin, Art Blakey, and 7 years with Tony Williams. “From the Ellington band through Tony Williams, I was literally in a band every single day for 16 years.” Miller also was a frequent collaborator with Joe Lovano in the late 80s, turning his priorities to his own trio, the sextet Wingspan and other ensembles in the 90s while still performing or recording with such artists as Diane Reeves, Rene Marie, Steve Turre, Kenny Garrett, Joe Lovano, and Gary Burton. He also collaborated with the late Niels Henning Orstad Pedersen on a recording and series of performances in tribute to the great piano/bass duos of Ellington and Blanton.
When asked how his approach to his small ensembles differs from his soloing, Miller noted, “In a trio or quintet, I sometimes tend to become more focused on melodic improvising. And especially in a quintet, I'll have a more concise approach to playing. But as a solo performer, I try to be more orchestral and use more of the entire instrument. After all, it's just you, so you need to come up with different things to make the music more interesting. In essence, I do things that are more pianistic.”
Ivan Taylor©Andrea Canter
Miller has released a number of recordings as leader for Landmark, Criss Cross, Verve and most recently, the two-volume trio sessions,
Live at Yoshi’s and
Live at Kennedy Center on MaxJazz. Noted Time Out New York, “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." A committed jazz educator, Miller has also recently assumed duties as Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University in New Jersey, succeeding his late partner in the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, James Williams.
Wingspan, which Miller has directed off and on for nearly 20 years, currently features Steve Nelson, vibes (the only holdover from the original band); Duane Eubanks, trumpet; Steve Wilson, alto saxophone; Ivan Taylor, bass; and Ulysses Owens, drums. The ensemble reconvened about a year ago as Miller commemorated his new tenure at William Paterson with a tribute to James Williams. “Wingspan” is also the title of an original Miller composition, a tribute to Charlie Parker. Over two decades, Wingspan has released two recordings, its eponymous debut (1987) and The Sequel (2002), both on MaxJazz.
Don’t wait for the holidays to celebrate! Mulgrew Miller’s Wingspan ensemble will get your holiday season off to a sonically perfect start, and the festivities begin at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center (Columbus Circle in the Time Warner complex), November 13-18, two shows each evening. Visit www.jalc.org for reservations.
Sunday, 20 July 2008
