Biography
Jane Miller, whose background encompassed both folk and jazz traditions, turned her primary attention to jazz in 1983. Beyond her prowess on guitar, she has emerged as a noteworthy composer whose creative output traces back to age seven, when she first began writing songs on ukulele. Once she persuaded her parents she could manage a larger instrument, Miller adopted guitar at age eleven. After completing her training at Berklee College of Music, she entered the folk circuit in 1976. By 1983, however, she sought to broaden her artistic range through more substantial composition and therefore assembled her own ensemble to showcase original material alongside her treatments of classic standards. Three albums have appeared on her own Pink Bubble Records imprint: Postcards in 1993, Secret Pockets in 1999, and The Other Room in 2000. While each recording centers on her own pieces, they also include scattered interpretations of well-known standards. Although Miller’s principal activity remains jazz performance, she has maintained ties to the folk community, joining contemporary folk singer SONiA for occasional appearances and contributing to the album Me, Too. She also participates in a jazz chamber-music format alongside saxophonist Cercie Miller and bassist David Clark. Additional stage collaborators have included guitarist Emily Remler, who served as her teacher, vocalist Jim Porcella, and saxophonist Billy Novick. Miller continues to appear at festivals and prominent East Coast venues, working either unaccompanied or in trio configurations that frequently feature bassist Bob Simonelli and drummer Don Kirby. A recipient of the Arts Lottery Grant conferred by the Massachusetts Arts Lottery, she steadily advances among leading jazz guitarists in both performance and composition, steadily approaching the upper ranks and helping to fill the space left by the untimely passing of the gifted Emily Remler.
Albums
