Jeffery Oliver Miller is an American
trombonist
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
, vocalist, composer, arranger and bandleader primarily known for his work in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and pop music. He was worked with
Delfeayo Marsalis
Delfeayo Marsalis (; born July 28, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist, record producer and educator.
Life and career
Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music pro ...
,
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
,
Jon Batiste & Stay Human,
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a p ...
and
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
, among others.
Early life
Born and raised in
'
Algiers neighborhood (15th Ward), Miller gained early and ubiquitous exposure to
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
culture and history. He is the great-great grandnephew of Papa John Joseph, a New Orleans
bass player who worked with
Buddy Bolden
Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden (September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931) was an African American cornetist who was regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of ragtime music, or "jass", which later ca ...
(and notably passed away during an especially raucous performance of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band).
Miller sang at home and church from an early age. Although initially drawn to the
drumset
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
, Miller began to study the trombone around age ten or eleven, inspired by his middle school band director Keith Hart. He progressed quickly and impressed professional trombonist Terrance Taplin, who encouraged
Delfeayo Marsalis
Delfeayo Marsalis (; born July 28, 1965) is an American jazz trombonist, record producer and educator.
Life and career
Marsalis was born in New Orleans, the son of Dolores (née Ferdinand) and Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music pro ...
to audition Miller for his Uptown Jazz Orchestra. After sitting-in with the group at New Orleans' famed jazz club
Snug Harbor, Miller joined the group at age 14.
He studied academics at
Benjamin Franklin High School and music at
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, or NOCCA, is the regional, pre-professional arts training center for high school students in Louisiana. NOCCA opened in 1973 as a professional arts training center for secondary school-age children. Locate ...
. While a
sophomore in high school, he performed with the
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a New Orleans jazz band founded in New Orleans by tuba player Allan Jaffe in the early 1960s. The band derives its name from Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. In 2005, the Hall's doors were closed for a p ...
at
Carnegie Hall.
During high school, he appeared for three seasons of the
HBO series ''
Treme'', in which he played a student of Antoine Batiste, the fictional trombonist depicted by
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles both on the stage and screen. He first gained notoriety portra ...
.
In 2013, Miller was selected as one of twelve younger musicians to participate in the Vail Jazz Workshop in
Vail, Colorado
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...
. The experience solidified his desire to pursue music as a lifelong calling.
In 2014, Miller was chosen to be in the 2014 GRAMMY Band, a program that selected high school students from across the United States to perform during GRAMMY Week.
Musical career
Miller moved to New York City in 2014 to study at
The Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...
where he completed both undergraduate and master's degrees. During his early years in New York, he also toured with the trumpeter
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...
, the
Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...
as well as Canadian
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
band
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
.
Miller released the single "Lose Control" in summer 2018. The track draws heavily on diverse influences including
hip-hop,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, and
R&B.
He recorded on
Jon Batiste
Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, L ...
's studio album ''Hollywood Africans'' as well as contributed trombone solos to
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
's
Grammy-nominated ''A Legendary Christmas'' (featuring
Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award.
A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...
). He joined both Legend and Spalding to perform "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
''.
In May 2020, he released his album ''Songs About Women'', on which he both sang and played trombone alongside saxophonist Chris Bittner, pianist Sean Mason, drummer Brian Richburg Jr., and bassist Philip Norris. The album focused on compositions about and dedicated to women who raised and inspired him, including his grandmother, Patricia, and twin sister, Justice.
That fall, Miller composed music for a re-imagined rendition of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
Measure for Measure''. The production was set in 1979
, and directed by
L.A. Williams and
The Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
's Mobile Unit.
Jeffery can also be seen with fellow Juilliard alum Endea Owens as a part of her feature on NPR Tiny Desk in 2022.
He has been a frequent member of pianist
Jon Batiste
Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, L ...
's house band on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...
'' on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, the
Christian McBride
Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner.
McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...
Big Band and has performed with the
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The orchestra performs at the Orpheum Theater.
The Louisiana Philharmonic O ...
, among others.
Awards
*
ASCAP Foundation
Louis Prima
Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...
Award
*GRAMMY Nomination - ''Saint James Infirmary'' (Jon Batiste, 201)
*GRAMMY Nomination - ''A Legendary Christmas'' (John Legend, 2020)
*GRAMMY Nomination – ''Migration Series'' (Derek Bermel, 2020)
Discography
As leader
As sideman
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jeffery
1996 births
Living people
American jazz trombonists
American jazz singers
Male trombonists
American jazz composers
Juilliard School alumni
21st-century trombonists
21st-century American male musicians