Barry Miles (born March 28, 1947) is an American pianist, record producer, and author.

Life and career

Miles was born Barry Miles Silverlight to Arthur and Hermine (née Klein) in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

and grew up in

North Plainfield, New Jersey North Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the boroug ...

. He joined the musicians union at age nine in 1956 as a child prodigy drummer/pianist/vibist appearing with

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

and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

among other talents of the day live and on TV shows including ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'',

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

's variety show, and ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' is an American television variety show hosted by singer Andy Williams that ran on NBC (and was videotaped in color) from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'') ...

''. He made his solo artist debut recording at age fourteen in 1961, "Miles of Genius", as drummer and composer with sidemen Al Hall and

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

. Miles continued to perform with his own band in the early 1960s in which he composed the material that enabled up and coming talents such as

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century's most important and influentia ...

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

and

Robin Kenyatta Robin Kenyatta (March 6, 1942 – October 26, 2004) was an American jazz alto saxophone, alto saxophonist. Early life Born Robert Prince Haynes in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Kenyatta grew up in New York City and began playing the saxophone a ...

to display their talents. He wrote the instruction book, "Twelve Themes With Improvisations", published in 1963 by

Belwin-Mills Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. History In New York City ...

, and currently out of print. While a student at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, Miles concentrated his efforts on his piano playing, recording a live album in 1966 entitled ''Barry Miles Presents His Syncretic Compositions''. He applied the philosophical term "syncretic" to music, defining the process of melding any combination of musical influences and styles together in the improvisational jazz idiom with originality. The combination of Miles's early jazz influences, his early

Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

background from the late 1950s and early 1960s, and his innovative "melting pot of musical styles" concept, resulted in this recording. Miles followed this release in 1969 with the eponymously titled album, ''Barry Miles'', incorporating electric instruments including the electric piano. In 1971, Miles recruited his brother

Terry Silverlight Terry Silverlight is a jazz, pop, rock and R&B drummer, composer, producer, arranger and author. Biography Silverlight was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in North Plainfield, New Jersey. He made his debut as a drummer on Barry Miles' 's ...

on drums along with guitarists

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. He has been cited as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz. Early life Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philad ...

and John Abercrombie to record his ''White Heat'' album, which is regarded as one of the pioneering fusion jazz recordings. For the next decade, Miles recorded several albums in which he developed the principle of fusing styles together in jazz. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Miles embarked upon a prolific career as a keyboardist and

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

soloist on many recordings in the heyday of studio work, while working as

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

's musical director for a stint that lasted fifteen years. During that time, he composed, produced and recorded songs that Flack recorded in the film '' Bustin' Loose'', and on her album ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

's stint as the guitarist in Miles's band on live performances and Miles's PBS special "Fusion Suite" in 1973, a long-lasting relationship developed between Miles and Di Meola that resulted in Miles's frequent appearances as keyboardist on Di Meola's albums along with co-production credits. In 2013, Barry released ''Home and Away, Volume One'', his first album as a leader in 27 years.

Discography

As leader

* ''Miles of Genius'' (Charlie Parker 1962) * ''Presents His New Syncretic Compositions'' (Venture, 1966) * ''Barry Miles'' (Poppy Music, 1970) * ''White Heat'' (Mainstream, 1971) * ''Scatbird'' (Mainstream, 1972) * ''Barry Miles and Silverlight'' (London 1974) * ''Magic Theater'' (London 1975) * ''Together'' with Eric Kloss (Muse, 1976) * ''Sky Train'' (RCA, 1977) * ''Fusion Is...'' (Century, 1978) * ''Zoot Suit Stomp'' (Unidisc, 1986) * ''Home and Away, Volume One'' (CD Baby, 2013)

As sideman

With

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...

* '' Land of the Midnight Sun'' (Columbia, 1976) * ''

Elegant Gypsy ''Elegant Gypsy'' is the second album by American jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola. It was released in 1977 by Columbia Records. Background ''Elegant Gypsy'' was a follow-up album to Di Meola's debut release, '' Land of the Midnight Sun''. The ...

'' (Columbia, 1977) * ''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

'' (Columbia, 1978) * ''

Kiss My Axe ''Kiss My Axe'' is an album by jazz guitarist Al Di Meola that was released in 1991. It is a jazz fusion album, with significant world music influences. Like its predecessor, '' Tirami Su'' (1987), it is credited to "The Al Di Meola Project", alt ...

'' (Tomato, 1991) * ''

Consequence of Chaos ''Consequence of Chaos'' is an album by Italian-American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist Al Di Meola, released in 2006. The album features guest appearances by Chick Corea, Steve Gadd, John Patitucci and Barry Miles. Track listing All son ...

'' (Telarc, 2006) * ''Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody'' (Telarc, 2011) With

* ''Bustin' Loose'' (MCA, 1981) * ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Franco Ambrosetti Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio Ambrosetti, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter best known for " Baby, Come to Me", her 1982 duet with James Ingram, which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after its re-release ...

, '' End of a Rainbow'' (CTI, 1976) *

Bazuka Bazuka was an American instrumental R&B group, put together by the record producer Tony Camillo. They released a self-titled album on A&M Records in 1975 which featured the song " Dynomite", a #10 hit in the US ''Billboard'' pop chart that ye ...

, ''Bazuka'' (A&M, 1975) *

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track r ...

, ''Calello Serenade'' (Midsong, 1979) * Creme D'Cocoa, ''Funked Up'' (Venture, 1978) * The Ebonys, ''Sing About Life'' (Buddah, 1976) * Epo, ''Goodies'' (RCA, 1980) *

Gabrielle Goodman Gabrielle Goodman (born 1964 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American jazz singer, composer, author, and associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music.Symkus, Ed. (August 1, 2007)Goodman will jazz up the Fort ''Roslindale Transcript''. S ...

, ''Travelin' Light'' (JMT, 1993) * Gabrielle Goodman, ''Angel Eyes'' (2003) *

Urbie Green Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green (August 8, 1926 – December 31, 2018) was an American jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He played on over 250 recordings and released more than twenty albums a ...

, '' The Fox'' (CTI, 1977) *

Vic Juris Victor Edward Jurusz Jr. (September 26, 1953 – December 31, 2019), known professionally as Vic Juris, was an American jazz guitarist. Music career Juris was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but he moved with his family to Parsippany-Troy Hill ...

, '' Roadsong'' (Muse, 1978) *

Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, which was run by his father. When he was ...

, ''

Bodies' Warmth ''Bodies' Warmth'' is an album by saxophonist Eric Kloss which was recorded in 1975 and released on the Muse label.Celebration'' (Muse, 1980) *

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

, ''Still Together'' (Buddah, 1977) * Gladys Knight & the Pips, ''

Imagination Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself. These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes ...

'' * Gladys Knight & the Pips, ''

I Feel a Song ''I Feel a Song'' is the thirteenth studio album recorded by American R&B group Gladys Knight & the Pips, released in November 1974 on the Buddah label. It was their third overall album for Buddah. The first single release, " I Feel a Song (I ...

'' *

Jimmy McGriff James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McGriff started playing pia ...

, ''Outside Looking In'' (LRC, 1978) *

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Washington; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. ...

, ''Capricorn Princess'' (Kudu, 1976) *

Mongo Santamaria Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo, Chad, a Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction * Mongo Department, Gabon * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River) ...

, ''Red Hot'' (Tappan Zee, 1979) *

, ''Terry Silverlight'' (Cymekob, 1997) *

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

, ''Happy Birthday Baby'' (Spring 1979) *

Nino Tempo Antonino LoTempio (January 6, 1935 – April 10, 2025) was an American musician, singer, and actor. He was a duet partner with his older sister April Stevens as well as the frontman for a 1970s funk band, 5th Ave. Sax. Biography Early life Anto ...

, ''Tenor Saxophone'' (Atlantic, 1990) *

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

, ''A New Album'' (Gryphon, 1980) * Mel Torme, ''The London Sessions'' (DCC, 1990) *

The Whatnauts The Whatnauts were an American soul group from Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

, ''Corruption'' (P-Vine 2004)

References

External links

* *
Barry Miles
artist page at The Bottom End {{DEFAULTSORT:Miles, Barry (Musician) Jazz fusion pianists American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American male organists 20th-century American keyboardists American session musicians Musicians from Somerset County, New Jersey Musicians from Newark, New Jersey People from North Plainfield, New Jersey Living people 1947 births 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American organists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American male musicians