Top
Of Page
Denver trumpeter Ron
Miles’ resume
includes time with Bill Frisell, Madeleine Peyroux, Don
Byron, the Ellington Orchestra, and Fred Hess' Boulder
Creative Music Ensemble. Besides being solicited all
over the world for his unique sound, Ron is a staple
of the Denver jazz scene and his recent releases as band
leader show off his skills as a composer and arranger
as well as a “phenomenally gifted trumpeter” (Bill
Milkowski).
A resident of Denver since he was 11, he
began playing the trumpet seriously in junior high school and studied music
at the University of Denver (1981-1985) and the Manhattan School of Music (1986).
Miles says that living in Denver has given him an appreciation for a broad
array of musical styles that he might not have acquired elsewhere. “Country
and Western music, Latin, jazz, and rock are all popular here, so you find
yourself trying out a lot of ideas with other musicians and gaining a healthy
respect for the music,” he explains.
Ron Miles was widely recognized as a musical director and
arranger with the release of Ginger Baker’s Coward of the County (Atlantic
1999). His compositions anchor that record and highlight the varied influences
from which Ron draws inspiration. Hailed as an inventive composer and gifted
trumpeter on his solo releases, Ron cruised through the 1990s with a series
of well-received releases on Gramavision (My Cruel Heart, Woman’s Day)
and Capri (Witness, Ron Miles Trio).
In 2002 Ron slowed it down for a quiet, intimate recording
with friend and master jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. Heaven again
showcases Ron’s talent as an arranger, particularly on Hank Williams’ “Your
Cheatin’ Heart” and Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s
A-Gonna Fall” According to Bill Frisell, "What is so exciting about
Ron is that he really has his own voice. It seems like everything that is going
on right now is either very conservative or it rejects everything. Ron has
found a way to include everything and not reject things, and still be his own
person." Miles said of his playing with Bill, “I think we share
a fondness for striking melody, patience and the importance of individual timbre."
This new release is a Double album. Stone and Blossom feature
new songs by Ron, as well as outstanding recordings from some of Denver’s
finest musicians. Blossom also features a cover of I Woke
Up In Love This Morning by the Partridge Family, and I'll Be There by
The Jackson Five.
Top
of page
Ron Miles has three discs
with Sterling Circle Records. His most recent release
Stone/Blossom, released in October 2006, is a
double disc album.
His second release is titled
Laughing Barrel. This quartet includes performances
from Ron on Trumpet, Anthony Cox on Bass, Brandon Ross
on Guitar, and Rudy Royston on Drums.
Ron's first release with
Sterling Circle Records is titled Heaven. This
CD features special guest Bill Frisell on Guitar.
Top
of page
Heaven Laughing
Barrel Stone/Blossom
Heaven:
Simply
put: Trumpet and guitar. Horn man Ron Miles tries a duet
this time out, and he picked his partner well: the high-profile
and hugely talented Bill Frisell
Heaven
is a delicately rendered set of songs, highlighting the
strengths of the two players. Ron Miles has a breathy,
very lyrical approach to the trumpet; his six originals
here have memorable, straightforward melodies that seem
to cry out for words.
Bill
Frisell--whom Miles has worked with--is a perfect
accompanist for for the soft trumpet sound. His accoustic
talent is subtle and nuanced, versatile as it can be.
Six
Ron Miles originals--a bright, joyous opener, "Just
Married"--Ellington's
"Heaven", culled from Ron M's days with the Mercer
Ellington Band; a gentley-rollicking "King Porter Stomp";
his partner is music Frisell's "Ron Miles"; a back
porch version on Hank Williams' "You Cheatin' Heart";
and a bequiling take on Dylan's
"Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" that starts out with Frisell
taking the lead, Miles doing the swaths of pastel background;
a pungent, stop-time take on Monk's "We See"
Heaven
is lyrical jazz pared down to its lovely essense, with
Bill Frisell shining around Ron Miles warm glow.
~
Dan McClenaghan
Back to Praise Back
to Top
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILLBOARD
May 11, 2002
Steven Graybow
“Jazz
Notes”
MILES
AWAY: Trumpet and guitar are not the most frequently paired
of instruments but then gain, Denver is not exactly the
locale that most jazz musicians would choose to practice
their craft. However, trumpeter Ron
Miles thrives among such seeming incongruities, carving
our a niche as a working musician (ad an associate professor
at Denver’s Metropolitan State College) in the Mile
High City and releasing Heaven, a duo project with guitarist Bill
Frisell, May 7 on the fledgling Sterling Circle label.
Miles
and Frisell are longtime friends and have discussed the
idea of recording a series of duets ever since they collaborated
on Frisell’s 1996 release Quartet (Nonesuch). Theirs
is a pairing that works because of sympathetic dissimilarities
rather than parallels—as elliptical and mysterious
as Frisell’s lines an suspended chords can be, Miles
is equally straight-to-the-point, blowing iconic, conversational
melodies that float above the guitarist’s colorful
voicings.
“We
recorded sitting right next to each other,” Miles
says, “and I didn’t know if Bill was going
to play with his trademark loops and distortions. He had
everything set up, but in the end he never turned them
on.”
There is, Miles says, a satisfaction in hearing Frisell’s
unadorned playing. “I enjoyed watching Bill play guitar
without the effects, because he is so good with the different
textures that his actual playing sometimes gets overlooked.”
Much
of the material on Heaven was composed by Miles specifically
for the project, with a few choice covers brought in, such
as Jelly Roll Morton’s “King Porter Stomp,”
Thelonious Monk’s infrequently recorded “We See,”
Hank Wiliams’ “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” and
Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” a
song that Frisell introduced to the trumpeter. “I wasn’t
really familiar with Dylan’s older material, although
I have been listening to his recent Time Out of Mind album,” Miles
says. “After Bill taught me the song and we recorded
it, I ran out and bought the album with the original version.”
Miles
says that living in Denver has given him an appreciation
for a broad array of musical styles that he might not have
acquired elsewhere. “Country and Western music, Latin,
jazz, and rock are all popular here, so you find yourself
trying out a lot of ideas with other musicians and gaining
a healthy respect for the music,” he explains. “Many
of the local musicians have highly individual sounds or
styles, because there are no tightly drawn stylistic lines
or camps, since there are not that many musicians to begin
with. So musicians tend to be really supportive of each
other’s ideas and work hard to get them across.”
According
to Miles, a musician living outside of a large musical
epicenter can still benefit from the knowledge of artists
in the global jazz community. “If there are people
you respect, send them a recording,” he advises. “jazz
musicians are always interested in hearing what other musicians
are doing. Find someone who you think would be interested
in your work, contact them, and ask if you can send them
a recording. Chances are they will listen and offer feedback.
It creates a forum to share ideas. Creating music and sharing
it is an important way to contribute to the larger jazz
community, no matter where you live.”
Heaven
is the first release from the Boulder, Colo.-based Sterling
Circle label (www.sterlingcircle.com), which anticipates
releasing a quartet project from Miles later this year.
Back to Praise Back
to Top
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston
Globe Online April 30, 2002
Ron
Miles - Heaven (Sterling Circle Records): Jazz trumpeter
Ron Miles teams with guitarist Bill
Frisell on the atmospheric "Heaven."
Over
the course of 12 songs (seven originals), Miles and Frisell
join forces to form a moody, yet beautiful, soundscape
of mellow, free form explorations. Each musician gets to
lead; sometimes Miles begins a slow groove and is joined
by Frisell while at other points Frisell's whispery guitar
provides Miles with a framework for an extemporaneous jaunt.
Back to Praise Back
to Top
DOWNBEAT
August
2002, Dave Flomberg
“Divine
Conversation”
Under
the radar is a place most performers prefer not to spend
too much time. The lifelong struggle against obscurity
is often the driving force behind greatness, or at the
very least, prominence. Ron Miles has
spent most of his career under the radar. Yet, while international
prominence eludes him, the trumpeter has been flirting
with greatness for years.
Nowhere
is this more evident than on his latest recording, Heaven
(Sterling Circle), released in May. A collection of duets
from Miles and guitarist Bill
Frisell, Heaven explores humanity in jazz script. It’s
an expression of the beauty that can happen when musical
genius find its perfect complement, and the result is at
once moving and purely joyous.
Heaven
was recorded over the span of two days at Wind Over The
Earth Studios in Colorado (both Miles and Frisell attended
the same high school in Denver, albeit several years apart).
The album is a collection of 12 songs: some originals and
covers of Thelonious Monk, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Duke
Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton tunes. It’s the realization
of several years of friendship in aural form, one that
both players wanted to do for some time.
“When
I first started playing with Bill years ago, we talked
about how much fun it would be to do a duet album together,” Miles
says. “Then the opportunity presented itself. I love
Frisell’s sound. I wanted to pick songs that go together
to capture a joyous feeling.”
Miles,
a professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver, first
heard Frisell on recordings with Ronald Shannon Jackson
and John Zorn, and was enraptured by the guitarist’s
unique style and sound.
“I
had the opportunity to do this album with a label out of
New York, and they told me to get some players together
and record it,” he remembers.
“Bill was too busy then, but a year or two after that,
he’d heard me on the radio on a recording I did with
[Denver-based saxophonist] Fred Hess, and he wanted to get
together and do something.”
“I
was driving in my car,” Frisell reminisces, “and
a Duke Ellington song came on with some musicians I didn’t
recognize, until the trumpet solo. I was sure it had to
be that guy who had sent me the tape. I waited to find
out and sure enough, they said that was Ron Miles. So at
this point I had to call him up.”
Since
then, the two have appeared several times together, including
Frisell’s albums Quartet and Blues Dream, Miles’ album
Women’s Day and a collection of Elvis Costello/ Burtj
Bacharach tunes, The Sweetest Punch.
Miles
is no stranger to playing with top-notch musicians. His
own resume includes time with the Ellington orchestra,
and projects with players such as drummer Ginger Baker
and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes. However, the relationship
with Frisell is forged in something deeper, something that
truly brings out the best in both.
"I’ve
played with him as much as I’ve played with anyone
else in my life,” Miles says. “Maybe even more.
He’s been a great influence on my music. He’s
one of my big compositional heroes. He always sounds like
Bill Frisell, and that’s one of the most important
things I took from playing with him—how it’s
possible to play like yourself all the time.”
Conversely,
that same appreciation for individuality drew Frisell to
Miles. “Ton has his own sound,” Frisell says. “He
knows the history, but he’s not a copycat. He can
play anything but he always sounds like Ron Miles.”
Heaven
bursts with that approach—two individual artists,
each playing in a manner that suggests while the may not
think exactly alike, they both know exactly where the other
is heading. For example, most of the songs were done in
one take, in a live format.
“We
just sat down in a room with three mics set up a few feet
away, sketched out a few ideas and played,” Miles
says. “There was no overdubbing at all.”
Not
that any was needed. Much of the album is conversational,
as the artists finish each others thoughts, whether it’s
inside and lilting like on Williams’ “Your
Cheatin; Heart,” or jarringly discordant, as in the
intro to Miles’ “Falsetto.”
“It
was both liberating and challenging,” Frisell says. “There
was no band to fall back on. It felt really good to just
stay in that world.”
Back to Praise Back
to Top
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laughing Barrel:
ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM
March, 2003
By Mark Corroto
"Trumpeter
Ron Miles, a native of Denver, Colorado, has been playing
jazz on his own terms--creating his own language--for
quite a while. Like the Iowan Charlie Haden or West
Coaster Bill Frisell, Miles’ music can have an
urban sound; it just doesn’t start there. His
latest outing, the quartet recording Laughing Barrel,
follows up his duo session Heaven with Bill Frisell
(Sterling Circle, 2002)."
"Where
Heaven projected a relaxed atmosphere, this disc picks
up the intensity. Miles’ Quartet includes the
Hendrix-meets-jazz guitarist Brandon Ross (Cassandra
Wilson, Harriet Tubman, Henry Threadgill), drummer
Rudy Royston and bassist Anthony Cox (John Scofield,
Joe Lovano, Bobby Previte)--all of whom are equally
comfortable tearing it up or playing unplugged. On
Laughing Barrel the quartet does a bit of both."
"The
disc opens with his signature earthy sounding “Parade” that
showcases Miles’ lyrical trumpet playing. Throughout
this recording, Miles creates music that draws listeners
in from backgrounds other than jazz. Like the tune “Sunday
Best,” with Ross switching to acoustic guitar
and Royston handling brushes, Miles finds the swing
in folk music. Same with “Psychedelic Black Man,” where
hippie beats power Ross’ space guitar wah-wahs,
there’s Miles maintaining his sweet tone as if
to say this jazz boat has room enough for all. As a
working quartet these players have the room to stretch
Miles’ compositions. Miles’ nod to postbop, “New
Breed Leader,” has the band cooking through some
classical bop changes and Miles showing off his best
Freddie Hubbard playing, before Ross takes a searing
jazz-meets-messy-rock solo. On “Jesus Loves Me,” an
extended blues, the melancholy tone that begins the
track finds resolution in determined muscle."
Maybe
Laughing Barrel was made for rural America, but I bet
our friends with concrete front lawns can dig it too.
Back to Praise Back
to Top
ALLMUSICGUIDE.COM
March 2003
By Rick Anderson
On
his previous release for the Sterling Circle label, trumpeter
and composer Ron Miles collaborated with guitarist Bill
Frisell to make an album whose relationship to jazz was
fairly tangential — the music inhabited some nether
region along the borders of jazz, country and folk, and
not only because the program included arrangements of songs
by Bob Dylan and Hank Williams along with the Duke Ellington
and Thelonious Monk tunes. Now leading a quartet that includes
bassist Anthony Cox, guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer
Rudy Royston, and playing a set consisting entirely of
original compositions, Miles still seems to be exploring
that strange shadowland of American music. His melodies
are attractive but not always immediately accessible; on "Parade" the
composition marches gently forward, but "Psychedelic
Black Man" and the aptly titled "Still Small
Voice" are more abstract and contemplative.
"Sunday Best", the album's shortest piece, is also
its most tightly organized, and it has s definite country
feel. Everyone plays brilliantly, but Ross, with his seemingly
bottomless bag of sonic tricks and always-tasteful application
of them, is especially noteworthy. Highly recommended.
Back to Praise Back
to Top
Coda
By
Stuart Broomer
May 2003
Denver
trumpeter Ron Miles is best known for his work with Bill
Frisell;
indeed, last years Heaven was a hand-in-glove duet by
the two. Here Miles
leads a quartet with guitarist Brandon Ross, bassist
Anthony Cox and drummer Rudy Royston, and it’s
a fine band, capable of a nuanced lyricism that amplifies
Miles bittersweet melodies and yearning tone. The trumpeter’s
thoughtful understatement occasionally approaches brassy
hard-bop as in the brash, choppy phrasing of "New
Breed Leader" but its the quietly intense interplay
that’s usually most notable. Note the way Ross’ use
of wah-wah pedal effectively echoes trumpet sonority
on "Psychedelic Black Man," or the duet of
Miles and Cox on "Sunday Best." It’s
a group that supports sustained attention.
Stone/Blossom :
Matthew Miller, All About Jazz,
April 2007
"It's no secret why Ron Miles is one
of the most highly regarded trumpeters of his generation.
His rich, burnished tone and supple lyricism have won over
Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz - two of jazz' leading aesthetic
visionaries - along with fans who appreciate understatement,
whispered dissonance, wry humor"..."the melody is truly catchy
and Miles' reading of it and his subsequent solo are memorable;
he even throws in some subtle variations, harmonic rubs and
coy growls to mix it up."
Back to Praise Back
to Top
Paul de Barros, Downbeat, February
2007
"If you're a Ron Miles fan, you're familiar
with the Denver brass man's melted-butter, flugel-horn-like
sound in the trumpet's mid-range, his gentle precision and
lyric feel for melody."..."this one [Stone/Blossom], an evocative,
suite-like pair of discs, flows in the quiet pastoral folk/jazz
vein pioneered by his sometime boss Bill Frisell."
Back to Praise Back
to Top
Brad Weismann, Colorado Daily
News, Jan 19, 2007
"With a solid base in academic life and his
community, Miles continues to challenge himself. His
sound is indefinable, unique, lyrical yet rigorous."
"'Stone,' the more straight-ahead of the two discs, featuring
all-Miles compositions, powered by Miles, Royston on the
drums, as well as Kent McLagan on bass and Eric Gunnison
on piano...'We were doing it old-school-- no overdubs,
no headphones, just us in a room.'"
"The resulting second set [Blossom], as it were, is a
much more legato, flowing experience, featuring "crafted"
tunes. On this half, Miles and Royston are joined
by Greg Garrison on bass, Green on guitar, Erik Deutsch
on piano and Rhodes, Eric Moon on organ, accordion and
keyboards, and Glenn Taylor on pedal steel guitar."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
Greg Glasgow,
Daily Camera, Dec 22, 2006
"Stone is a spacious, meditative disc featuring Miles
back by piano, bass and drums; Blossom is a more experimental,
puppy affair that finds Miles playing the warmer-sounding
cornet."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
Mark Corroto, All About
Jazz, November 2006
"Like his contemporaries, his music is informed by
his experience and his surroundings. Stone is the
more contemplative of the two discs. This all-acoustic
recording highlights Miles' velvety tone. It opens
and closes with two very sweet pieces: "Clairvoyance" and
"Cupid" rely on slow, drawn-out melodies played with a
healthy respect for the silence and space between the note
played and the next thought."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
Bret Saunders, The
Denver Post, Oct 24, 2006
"Trumpeter/Cornetist Ron Miles' "Stone / Blossom"
is a generous, two-hour collection, with an intelligent
acoustic quartet on the "Stone" portin and a moody electric
rock band emanating from the "Blossom" disc. It's
also the ideal summation of Miles' career as a leader and
composer up to this point."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
Nate Chinen, The New
York Times, Oct 15, 2006
"Like his contemporaries, his music is informed by
his experience and his surroundings. Stone is the
more contemplative of the two discs. This all-acoustic
recording highlights Miles' velvety tone. It opens
and closes with two very sweet pieces: "Clairvoyance" and
"Cupid" rely on slow, drawn-out melodies played
with a healthy respect for the silence and space between
the note played and the next thought."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
Nate Chinen, Jazz Times,
Oct 10, 2006
"The funny thing is, Miles occupies a stylistic territory
almost squarely between Marsalis and Douglas; he can convincingly
evoke either one of them. This isn't an indication
of some stylistic pendulum--the notion that Wynton and
Dave emboddy oppisite poles as trumpeters has always been
highly dubious to begin with--so much as a by-product of
Miles' thoughtful evasion. He's hard to place, on the usual
aesthetic scales: He branches straight out of a postbop
contiuum but works often without clarifying guidelines
of an idiom. Most of the time, he sounds like no
one but himself."
Back
to Praise Back
to Top
For a complete up to date list of all Ron
Miles Activities, visit his Myspace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/ronmilesmusic
| Date |
Venue |
City & State |
Group |
| September 3rd |
Laughing Goat |
Boulder, CO |
Erik Deutsch Fingerprint Band |
| September 25th |
King Center |
Denver, CO |
Drew Morrell |
| September 27th |
Tour w/Brandon Ross |
|
|
| October 7th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Metro Combo Concert |
| October 14th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Metro Combo Concert |
| October 30th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Metro Big Band Concert |
| November 1st |
Earshot Festival |
Seattle, WA |
Wayne Horvitz |
| November 2nd |
Earshot Festival |
Seattle, WA |
Wayne Horvitz |
| November 3rd |
Earshot Festival |
Seattle, WA |
Wayne Horvitz |
| November 7th |
Yardbird Suite |
Edmonton, VA |
Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet |
| November 9th |
San Francisco Jazz Festival |
San Francisco, CA |
Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet |
| November 11th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Metro Combo Concert |
| November 12th |
Italian Tour w/Matt Wilson
Arts & Crafts |
|
Ron Miles Quartet with
Bill Frisell, Reginald Veal, & Matt Wilson |
| November 18th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Ron Miles Quartet with
Bill Frisell, Reginald Veal, & Matt Wilson |
| December 4th |
King Center Recital Hall |
Denver, CO |
Ron Miles Quartet with
Bill Frisell, Reginald Veal, & Matt Wilson |
