Jason Miles (born June 30, 1951) is an American

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 major ...

keyboardist, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has worked with trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, bassist

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

, and singer

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

, as well as maintaining a successful solo career.

Career

Miles was born in Brooklyn, New York, and went to

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. When

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

was becoming popular in the 1970s, Miles was in New York creating innovative techniques in synthesizer programming and electronic music. He recorded ''Cozmopolitan'' (1979), his first album, with

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

and

, although it wasn't released. During the 1980s he was a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

who worked with

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

, and

. During the 1990s, he played keyboards on ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' by Whitney Houston, ''The Power of Love'' by Luther Vandross, and ''HIStory'' by Michael Jackson. He wrote music for the animated film ''The Snow Queen'' and ''People: A Musical Celebration of Diversity'' on the Disney Channel. He and his wife Kathy Byalick composed ''Visionary Path'', a New Age album with narration by

Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide, including over six million in the US. On December 11, 2009, '' Billboard'' maga ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

, and

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he wo ...

. In 2000 Miles released ''The Music of Weather Report'', the first of several tribute albums. During the next year he won a Grammy Award for producing ''A Love Affair: The Music of Ivan Lins'' with appearances by Sting and Brenda Russell. His next solo album ''To Grover, with Love'', was a tribute to Grover Washington Jr. that was nominated for Record of the Year by the National Smooth Jazz Awards. He also recorded tributes to Miles Davis and

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Discography

* ''World Tour'' (Lipstick LIP-89021, 1994) * ''Mr. X'' (Lightyear 54170, 1996) * ''Visionary Path: Guided Journeys for the Mind and Spirit'' (Prophesy 4042, 1997) * ''Celebrating the Music of

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

83473, 2000) * ''A Love Affair: The Music of

Ivan Lins Ivan Guimarães Lins (born June 16, 1945) is a Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music (MPB) and jazz for over thirty years. His first hit, "Madalena", was recorded by ...

'' (Telarc 83496, 2000) * ''To Grover, with Love'' Grover_Washington_Jr..html" ;"title=" tribute to Grover Washington Jr."> tribute to Grover Washington Jr.(Q Records 92945, 2001; ARTizen 10014, 2006) * ''Brazilian Nights: Rio Wave'' (Q Records 92961, 2002; Turn Up the Music 1051, 2005) - with Romero Lubambo * ''Cozmopolitan'' (Turn Up the Music 1053, 2005) rec. 1979 * ''Miles to Miles: In the Spirit of

'' ( Narada Jazz 78136, 2005) * ''What's Going On? Songs of

'' (Narada Jazz 33338, 2006) * ''Global Noize'' ( Shanachie 5160, 2008) - with

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands. Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turnta ...

* ''Soul Summit: Live at the Berks Jazz Fest!'' (Shanachie 5770, 2008) * ''2 Grover with Love'' ( Koch KOC-4536, 2008) * ''A Prayer for the Planet'' (Art of Groove/MIG 80132, 2011) - with 'Global Noize' * ''Kind of New'' (

Whaling City Sound Whaling City Sound is an independent jazz record label established by Neal Weiss in 1999. History Weiss is president of Fiber Optic Center in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A lifelong fan of jazz, he started Whaling City Sound as a jazz label, thoug ...

WCS-073, 2015) - with

Ingrid Jensen Ingrid Jensen (born January 12, 1966) is a Canadian jazz trumpeter. Music career Jensen was born in North Vancouver and grew up in Nanaimo. She received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, she ...

* ''To Grover with Love: Live in Japan'' (Whaling City Sound WCS-078, 2016) rec. 2010 * ''Kind of New 2: Blue is Paris'' (Lightyear, 2017) * ''Black Magic'' ( Ropeadope RAD-529, 2020) - with 'Kind of New' * ''The Artistry and Volume of Efrayim Fischbacher'' ( Regal, 2022)

References

External links

Jason Miles Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Jason 1951 births Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American jazz composers American male jazz composers Jazz musicians from New York (state)