Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, Mulgrew Miller has developed a sound that is tinged with the blues and gospel flavors of that region. As the celebrated pianist explained in a recent JazzTimes article, “I started playing in church by ear at age eight… the blues were a big part of the total musical fabric in the Mississippi Delta.”
One of the most in-demand jazz pianists of his generation, Miller has performed with many of the legendary jazz innovators and has appeared on over 400 recordings. He was with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (conducted by Mercer Ellington) in the late '70s and had important stints with Betty Carter (1980), Woody Shaw (1981–1983), Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (1983–1986) and the Tony Williams Quintet (1986–1994).
In 1985 Miller made his debut recording as a leader, Keys To The City, for producer Orrin Keepnews' Landmark label. He went on to record several critically acclaimed albums, including 1987’s Wingspan (also the name of his primary band), Countdown (1989) and the two-volume set Live at the Kennedy Center (2006 and 2007).
In 1997 he was invited to tour Japan with an assembly of some of the most prestigious names in jazz piano—a group of ten pianists called 100 Gold Fingers that included Tommy Flanagan, Ray Bryant and Kenny Barron. Miller was also a member of the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, a unique group consisting of four pianists performing simultaneously on four grand pianos, with a rhythm section. Other innovative projects include his duos with Danish jazz bassist Neils Henning Orsted Pederson, his commission to compose a special work for the Dayton Dance Company, and his student workshops.
In 2006 Miller was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Performing Arts at Lafayette College, where he served as artist in residence from 2008–2009. He was also named director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University, following in the distinguished footsteps of his “friend and brother,” pianist James Williams.
John Clayton 2009 Artist in Residence
The Los Angeles-born Clayton studied bass with the legendary Ray Brown. By the age of 19, he was employed as the bassist on Henry Mancini's television series The Mancini Generation, but managed to go to school and graduate with a degree in performance from Indiana University in 1975. He toured with Monty Alexander and the Count Basie Orchestra for several years before accepting the position of principal bassist in the Amsterdam Philharmonic. With jazz in his heart and a calling to compose and arrange, he returned to the U.S. in 1984, where he founded the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra with brother Jeff Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton, as well as the Clayton Brothers Quintet.
In addition to studio work, performing and conducting for performers such as Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson, Quincy Jones, Queen Latifah, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli and Gladys Knight, John also teaches at USC and is the artistic director of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and the Vail Jazz Workshop. From 1999-2001, he served as Artistic Director of Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl.
In 2007, John was awarded a National Medal of Arts for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. In 2008, he received his first Grammy - after seven nominations - for his arrangement of "I'm Gonna' Live 'til I Die" on Queen Latifah's Verve recording. His arrangement of the "Star Spangled Banner" for Whitney Houston in 1991 resulted in the fastest-selling single in the history of Arista Records.
For nearly two decades, Grammy Award winner Christian McBride has widely been
regarded as one of the premier jazz bassists in the world.
The Philadelphia native has played with literally hundreds of artists,
from McCoy Tyner and Diana Krall to Sting. In 1991, legendary bassist Ray
Brown invited the young wunderkind to join him and John Clayton in the trio SuperBass.
And after being hailed "Hot Jazz Artist" of 1992 by Rolling Stone,
Christian continued to prove it as a member of guitarist Pat Metheny's "Special
Quartet."
Christian's own recordings – including The
Philadelphia Experiment (2001), Vertical Vision (2003),
and Live at Tonic (2006) – have encompassed a diverse
canon of original compositions and imaginatively arranged covers
that reveal the totality of his musicianship. His working group
in 2008, the Christian McBride Band, featured saxophonist Ron Blake,
keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gully.
But Christian’s prowess as a player is only half of what makes him such
a highly respected individual. He has held artistic director posts at
Jazz Aspen Snowmass summer program and the Dave Brubeck Institute and was co-director
of the Jazz Museum in Harlem. He was also the second Creative Chair for
Jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and was appointed as Artist in Residence
for the 51st Annual Monterey Jazz Festival.
As a composer, Christian was commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center to write "Bluesin'
in Alphabet City," which was performed by Wynton Marsalis with the Lincoln
Center Jazz Orchestra. In 1998, the Portland (ME) Arts Society and the
National Endowment for the Arts awarded McBride with a commission to write "The
Movement, Revisited," a dramatic musical portrait of the civil rights struggle
of the 1960s, written and arranged for quartet and a 30-piece gospel choir.
Hailed by Time Magazine as "one of the top creative artists in America," Carter
made history in 2001 when she became the first jazz musician and first African
American to play the legendary Guarneri violin once owned by classical music
virtuoso and composer Niccolo Paganini. This Detroit-born violinist went
on to record such memorable albums as the classical-infused Paganini: After
a Dream – on which she plays the Guarneri – and her most recent
release, I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey, a posthumous tribute
to her mother that features music from the 20s, 30s and 40s.
In the fall of 2006, Carter was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Foundation "Genius
Award” in recognition of her exceptional creativity and the future that
she represents in the creative arts. In 2007, Carter was named the first artist
in residence in the history of the Detroit Jazz Fest.For more information about
Regina Carter, go to www.reginacarter.com.
