by Bill Meredith (561-602-2685)
Bass players are to music what offensive
linemen are to football -- glue-like figures who don't get enough accolades for
controlling the action while singers, soloists and drummers get credit akin to
that sport's star quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers. Yet even
though he'll only turn 27 years old this month, Brooklyn, NY-based electric and
acoustic bassist Brad Miller is already building the career of a future musical
Hall-of-Famer.
Born in Manhattan in 1994, Miller moved to
South Florida with his family as a child. Eschewing traditional musical
education, his ear training included learning the works of icons like bassist
Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987) and trumpeter Clifford Brown (1930-1956), plus the
lengthy catalog of Miles Davis' longtime bassist, Ron Carter.
Before long, Miller was learning while earning
by playing with some of the state's iconic figures: multi-reedman Ira Sullivan
(1931-2020), Grammy-winning vocalist Jon Secada, guitarist Randy Bernsen
(Zawinul Syndicate), trumpeter Melton Mustafa (1947-2017), steel drummer
Othello Molineaux (Pastorius' Word of Mouth Big Band), drummer Jonathan Joseph
(Jeff Beck), pianist Martin Bejerano (Jonathan Kreisberg), and saxophonist Turk
Mauro (1944-2019).
"I started on electric bass at age 7 and
then acoustic upright bass at 10," Miller says. "I got introduced to
[bassist] Nicky Orta around that time, and he got me into listening to Jaco's
music. So I grew up playing with people who knew him, like Ira, Randy, and
Othello, while I was still a teenager. And all of those guys were really
helpful to me after I decided to move back to New York seven years ago."
Many of Miller's current tour stops are with
Blaque Dynamite, the nickname of another young phenom, 26-year-old drummer and
Fort Worth, TX native Mike Mitchell (who started a long stint with iconic
bassist Stanley Clarke before he even graduated from high school). A frenetic
mix of jazz, hip hop and rock, Blaque Dynamite's three-week spring tour for
2021 includes South Florida appearances in Tampa, Orlando and Boca Raton. A
kindred open-minded spirit, Miller makes a formidable rhythm section with
Mitchell, whose mix of jazz (Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Lenny White) and
rock influences (John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon) results in explosive
forays and stylistic U-turns on Blaque Dynamite's two CDs, [i]Killing Bugs[i]
(2017) and [i]Time Out[i] (2020).
Mitchell's own impressive sideman roster of stars
and other accompanists includes bassist Christian McBride, keyboardist Herbie
Hancock, vocalists Erykah Badu and Michael McDonald, saxophonist Bob Mintzer,
vocalist/bassist Thundercat, and vocalist/keyboardist Jon Batiste.
"Mike has ridiculous chops but knows how
to play in the pocket, especially because he also sings," Miller says.
"He has 48,000 followers on Instagram."
Since returning to New York City, Miller has
padded his resume by earning playing time with guitarists Wayne Krantz and Adam
Rogers and saxophonist David Binney. The young bassist's own self-titled
jazz/fusion and funk band features guitarist Oz Noy, the fusion wunderkind who
has a dozen releases under his own name.
"During my first few months back in New
York, I sat in with Oz's band, and he liked it from the get-go," Miller
says. "So when I got a residency gig and could call whoever I wanted, I
called Oz."
Miller's band also includes keyboardists like
James Francies and BIGYUKI, and drummers like the fiery Jonathan Blake, Thomas
Pridgen (The Mars Volta), and Ari Hoenig, best-known for his signature work
with French jazz pianist Jean-Michel Pilc.
Despite his youth and lack of traditional music
schooling, Miller also already has an impressive list of New York City
performance venues (including the Blue Note, Smalls, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola,
and the 55 Bar) and endorsements with Serek Basses, Epifani Amplifiers, La
Bella Strings, and Moollon Musical Instruments.
"I was playing a Fender Precision bass a
few years ago at a gig," Miller says, "and some dude who said he was
my Uber driver just drove off with it after I put it in the car. I'd just spent
two years paying it off, and had no endorsements at the time. But I first got
one with Moollon, a Korean company, because they re-create vintage Fenders so
well."
All perhaps due, in part, to the similar
versatility and fluidity to an influential hero who likewise had no problem
shifting musical gears between his powerhouse big band; the funk and rock of
Blood, Sweat & Tears, fusion of Weather Report, and heady pop of Joni
Mitchell.
"Jaco is still the best," Miller
says. "Through his instructional DVDs, I've learned, like he always said,
to 'always learn the melody.'" More at www.bradmillerbass.com.
MARCH 7
THE BRICKS
TAMPA
MARCH 8
WILL'S PUB
ORLANDO
MARCH 11-12
FUNKY BISCUIT
BOCA RATON
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