Mulgrew Miller

Mulgrew Miller possessed exceptional talent at the piano, grounded in jazz and gospel idioms, and cultivated a percussive, harmonically dense approach shaped by Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, and Bud Powell. He established his voice during stints with Woody Shaw’s ensemble and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the opening years of the 1980s, then issued his own acclaimed trio and small-group recordings, among them Keys to the City in 1985, Wingspan in 1987, and With Our Own Eyes in 1994. Throughout this period he remained a sought-after accompanist, appearing alongside Branford Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Wallace Roney, Tony Williams, and Kenny Garrett. In addition to performing, he earned esteem as a teacher when he became Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University. His sole unaccompanied piano album, Solo, appeared in 2010, three years prior to his death from a stroke. He continues to rank among the most cherished pianists of his era, a regard reinforced by later archival issues such as The Art of the Duo with Kenny Barron in 2019 and In Harmony with Roy Hargrove in 2021.

Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1955, Miller began playing piano by ear at the age of six. After commencing formal lessons he progressed rapidly, soon performing at dances and supplying gospel music in church settings. Ramsey Lewis supplied his first important inspiration; by his teenage years he was absorbing the work of Oscar Peterson together with Art Tatum and Erroll Garner while directing his own trio at neighborhood events. Following high school he attended Memphis State University on a band scholarship that placed him on euphonium. There he encountered pianists Donald Brown and James Williams, who steered him toward Bud Powell, Wynton Kelly, and McCoy Tyner; he also met trumpeter Woody Shaw, with whom he would later collaborate.

After leaving the university Miller studied privately in Boston with Madame Margaret Chaloff. He worked with saxophonists Ricky Ford and Bill Pierce before moving to Los Angeles. In 1976 he assumed the piano chair in the Mercer Ellington Orchestra and remained with the group for three years. He toured with vocalist Betty Carter in 1980, then joined Woody Shaw, making his recording debut on the 1981 album United. Additional sessions followed with Johnny Griffin, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard, and others. On the recommendation of Blanchard and Donald Harrison, Miller entered Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, remaining with the drummer from 1983 through 1986. Under Blakey’s rigorous guidance he refined his craft and secured his standing as one of the leading pianists of his generation. Recognition from peers and predecessors led to numerous 1980s recordings with Branford Marsalis, Bobby Hutcherson, Wallace Roney, Joe Henderson, Benny Golson, Kenny Garrett, Freddie Hubbard, and additional artists.

Miller launched his career as a leader with the 1985 trio album Keys to the City on Landmark, featuring bassist Ira Coleman and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Subsequent Landmark releases included Work! in 1986, with Charnett Moffett and Terri Lynne Carrington, and the 1987 sextet date Wingspan, which again included Moffett along with saxophonist Kenny Garrett and vibraphonist Steve Nelson. He also formed Trio Transition with Reggie Workman and Freddie Waits, documenting several sessions, one of them a 1987 encounter with Oliver Lake. After leaving Blakey he joined drummer Tony Williams’ group and stayed until its dissolution in 1993.

Miller switched to the Novus label in 1992 for Hand in Hand, performing in both quintet and sextet formats with Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Steve Nelson, and Lewis Nash. He continued to record trio albums with bassist Richie Goods and drummer Karriem Riggins, among them 1995’s Getting to Know You. In 1999 he paired with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen for The Duets, an effort that drew on the 1940s partnership of Duke Ellington and Jimmy Blanton. The decade also brought collaborations with Donald Byrd, Joe Lovano, and Dianne Reeves, regular appearances with Wallace Roney, performances with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and tours alongside the New York Jazz Giants, whose personnel included Jon Faddis, Tom Harrell, Lew Tabackin, Bobby Watson, Ray Drummond, and Carl Allen.

During the early 2000s Miller maintained his own group, releasing The Sequel in 2002 and Live at Yoshi’s, Vol. 1 in 2004, both on MaxJazz. He also recorded with Brian Lynch, Jeremy Pelt, Ron Carter, and Cassandra Wilson. In 2005 he accepted the post of Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University. Around the same time Lafayette College conferred an honorary doctorate in Performing Arts and named him Artist in Residence. He remained active on the bandstand, joining Dave Holland’s sextet and John Scofield’s ensemble. Solo, drawn from a 2000 solo-piano concert at the Jazz en Tête festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France, was issued by Space Time Records in 2010. That year Miller suffered a minor stroke. After recovering he resumed performing, appearing in Denmark with the Klüvers Big Band, working in duo format with Kenny Barron, and touring Europe with Yusef Lateef and Archie Shepp. A second stroke proved fatal; he died in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on May 29, 2013, at the age of 57.

The posthumous duo album The Art of the Duo with pianist Barron was released in 2019. A further duo recording, In Harmony, followed in 2021 and presented Miller in concert settings from 2006 and 2007 alongside trumpeter Roy Hargrove.