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Mike Miller (guitarist)

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Mike Miller
Born (1953-05-08) May 8, 1953 (age 71)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
GenresRock, jazz
InstrumentsGuitar

Mike Miller (born May 8, 1953) is an American rock and jazz guitarist.[1] He has worked with Chick Corea, Bette Midler, Yellowjackets,[1] Brand X, Burton Cummings, Vinnie Colaiuta, Quincy Jones, Gino Vannelli, and Vital Information.

Early life

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Miller was born into a musical family in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was the third of four bass-playing brothers, performing with his father's jazz band at the age of twelve and in garage bands in his teens. He played bass in the Sioux Falls Symphony.[2]

Career

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In 1972, Miller moved to Colorado, where he played with Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Bill Frisell, Bruce Fowler, Tom Fowler, and Steve Fowler. He recorded the album Fly On with the band Air Pocket.[3][4] He moved to Los Angeles in 1975.[2] In California, he worked with Max Bennett, Brand X, Bobby Caldwell, Alphonso Johnson, Bennie Maupin, Airto Moreira, Shawn Phillips, and Tom Scott.[2]

In 1981, Miller began eleven years of working with pop singer Gino Vannelli, touring and recording five albums. In 1983 he wrote "Elamar" for the Yellowjackets album Mirage a Trois. Three years later he started a trio called The Outsidemen, releasing the live album Band Overboard (1996)[2][5][6] In 1993, Miller joined Chick Corea for the album Elektric Band II: Paint the World (1993).[6][7][8][9][10]

In 1990s Miller performed the music of Frank Zappa as a member of Banned from Utopia with the Seattle Symphony, the Portland Symphony, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra he recorded a guitar concerto by Joseph Curiale and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group he was a soloist alongside Peter Erskine for the album Blood on the Floor by Mark-Anthony Turnage.[2][11][12][13][14]

At the end of the 1990s, he was involved in scoring Jessica Yu's documentaries Breathing Lessons and The Living Museum. He toured with Bette Midler and appeared on her album Bette. He also worked with film composer Mark Mothersbaugh on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).[2] Marsis Jazz released his first solo album, Save the Moon, in 2001.

He was a touring guitarist with Boz Scaggs in 2014 and has worked with Brandon Fields, Mitchel Forman, Scott Kinsey, Otmaro Ruíz,[6] and Queen Latifah.

In the early-2000s, Miller played custom-made instruments, some with Seymour Duncan pickups, as well as a Martin D-28. He used effects made by Danish company Emma and by Line 6.[6][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ayers, Don (2007-12-17). "An Interview with Guitarist Mike Miller". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mike Miller music @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz Musicians. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. ^ "fowler brothers". www.united-mutations.com. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  4. ^ The Be-Bop Bass Notes: Tom Fowler Interview Duween, T'Mershi 04/24/1996 "2000-03 the Be-Bop Bass Notes: Tom Fowler Interview". Archived from the original on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2011-09-03. retrieved 08-11/2011
  5. ^ "Mixing Pop and Soul Music". The Los Angeles Times. 13 April 1991.
  6. ^ a b c d Fox, Darrin (September 2002). "Mike Miller: Elements of Style". Guitar Player.
  7. ^ Stewart, Zan (27 November 1993). "Spontaneous Connection". The Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Stewart, Zan (6 November 1993). "Chick Corea Band Plugs Back In". The Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Stewart, Zan (26 November 1995). "Chick Corea on the Electric Road Again". The Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Stewart, Zan (December 1993). "Brave New Band: Chick Corea". DownBeat.
  11. ^ The Los Angeles Times (06-05-2000) Swed, Mark "Ojai's Two-Nation Summit; The singularities of music from Britain and France are pondered in a small town that fosters idylls"
  12. ^ The Los Angeles Times, Ventura County Edition (06-09-2000) Woodard, Josef "Grand Finale; Ojai Festival ends season with enough to keep us attuned, aware"
  13. ^ LA Weekly (01-30-1998) Rense, Rip "Sealed Tuna Bolero: Banned from Utopia"
  14. ^ The Portland Oregonian (10-19-1995) "Former Zappa Bandmates Team up to Pay Homage to the Master"
  15. ^ Ayers, Don (12-17-2007) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)" "An Interview with Guitarist Mike Miller". All About Jazz "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) retrieved 10-07-2010
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