Biography
Guitarist Dominic Miller has built a strong reputation as a player shaped by pop, classical, and jazz traditions, most notably through his extended partnership with Sting. He first worked as a session and studio musician during the 1980s and later became one of Sting’s principal collaborators, appearing on numerous Top Ten releases that include The Soul Cages, Ten Summoner's Tales, The Last Ship, 57th & 9th, and The Bridge. Additional recording credits extend to Phil Collins, the Pretenders, and Chris Botti. His own largely instrumental solo projects highlight nylon-stringed technique and classical leanings, evident on 1995’s First Touch and 2004’s Shapes; the 2008 release In a Dream, made with Peter Kater, earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album, while 2016’s Hecho en Cuba reflects his interest in Latin forms. Miller has also issued ECM recordings such as 2019’s Absinthe and 2023’s Vagabond.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1960, he lived the first decade of his life in South America while his father was employed by Johnson Wax. Around age ten the family returned to the United States and settled in Racine, Wisconsin. By fifteen Miller had taken up the guitar and performed with local high-school groups before enrolling at London’s Guildhall School of Music, where he began engaging with the U.K. music community and formed friendships with violinist Nigel Kennedy and Level 42 keyboardist Mike Lindup. From the late ’80s onward he became a sought-after sideman, touring and recording with Level 42, World Party, King Swamp, the Pretenders, Phil Collins, and others.
His association with Sting commenced with the 1991 album The Soul Cages and has since encompassed nearly every Sting project of the ensuing decades, among them Ten Summoner's Tales, Mercury Falling, Brand New Day, All This Time, Sacred Love, If on a Winter's Night, The Last Ship, 57th & 9th, and The Bridge. He has contributed similarly to projects by Chris Botti, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kim Richey, Ronan Keating, and LeAnn Rimes. As a solo artist Miller issued his debut First Touch in 1995 and followed it with Second Nature in 1999, both emphasizing his technical command and preference for atmospheric instrumentals. Further releases include 2002’s New Dawn, recorded with Neil Stacey, the classical-oriented Shapes of 2004, and several eclectic Q-Rious albums such as 2010’s November, 2014’s Ad Hoc, and the 2016 collaboration Hecho en Cuba with Manolito Simonet. His ECM catalog began with 2017’s Silent Light, continued with Absinthe in 2019, and reached 2023’s Vagabond, which presented his quartet featuring pianist Jacob Karlzon, bassist Nicolas Fiszman, and drummer Ziv Ravitz.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1960, he lived the first decade of his life in South America while his father was employed by Johnson Wax. Around age ten the family returned to the United States and settled in Racine, Wisconsin. By fifteen Miller had taken up the guitar and performed with local high-school groups before enrolling at London’s Guildhall School of Music, where he began engaging with the U.K. music community and formed friendships with violinist Nigel Kennedy and Level 42 keyboardist Mike Lindup. From the late ’80s onward he became a sought-after sideman, touring and recording with Level 42, World Party, King Swamp, the Pretenders, Phil Collins, and others.
His association with Sting commenced with the 1991 album The Soul Cages and has since encompassed nearly every Sting project of the ensuing decades, among them Ten Summoner's Tales, Mercury Falling, Brand New Day, All This Time, Sacred Love, If on a Winter's Night, The Last Ship, 57th & 9th, and The Bridge. He has contributed similarly to projects by Chris Botti, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kim Richey, Ronan Keating, and LeAnn Rimes. As a solo artist Miller issued his debut First Touch in 1995 and followed it with Second Nature in 1999, both emphasizing his technical command and preference for atmospheric instrumentals. Further releases include 2002’s New Dawn, recorded with Neil Stacey, the classical-oriented Shapes of 2004, and several eclectic Q-Rious albums such as 2010’s November, 2014’s Ad Hoc, and the 2016 collaboration Hecho en Cuba with Manolito Simonet. His ECM catalog began with 2017’s Silent Light, continued with Absinthe in 2019, and reached 2023’s Vagabond, which presented his quartet featuring pianist Jacob Karlzon, bassist Nicolas Fiszman, and drummer Ziv Ravitz.
Albums
Singles
