Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013)

Jazz pianist and educator Mulgrew Miller died suddenly of a stroke on May 29 in Allentown, PA. He was 57. His career is heavily documented. Although his piano style was often said to resemble McCoy Tyner, he could play in a variety of genres, and he appeared on over 400 recordings, mostly as a sideman.

He was born in Greenwood, Mississippi on August 13, 1955. He began playing piano at age 6, and played with soul groups as a teenager. He was inspired to shift his focus to jazz after hearing Oscar Peterson. He studied music at Memphis State University. He said he was influenced by Eastern religions and the civil rights movement.

His first major gig was with the Mercer Ellington big band in the late '70s. He played with Woody Shaw (1981-83), Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1983-86), and Tony Williams (1986-1994), and on records, with Joe Lovano and Kenny Garrett, among many others. His most recent appearances were with John Scofield's R&B-oriented quartet and Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio. As a leader, he is best known for a string of recordings on the Landmark and RCA Novus labels beginning in 1985.  Here he is playing "Grew's Tune," from Hand in Hand (1992), with Joe Henderson, tenor sax; Kenny Garrett, alto sax; Eddie Henderson, trumpet; Steve Nelson, vibes; Christian McBride, bass; and Lewis Nash, drums.

He did four live albums with his trio from 2004-07 on Maxjazz.  From Live at the Kennedy Center, Volume 1, here's "Skylark," with Derrick Hodge, bass and Rodney Green, drums.

He was a member of the faculty at William Paterson University, where he served as Director of Jazz Studies since 2005, and was Artist in Residence at Lafayette College. Here's a video of him with Ron Carter on bass and Bobby Broom on guitar playing "The Golden Striker" in 2011.