#ron miles

AllMusic Staff Pick: Ron Miles Woman's Day

A poetic improviser and stylistic iconoclast, trumpeter Ron Miles will be remembered for his warm sound and deeply considered approach to modern creative jazz. His atmospheric 1996 album Woman's Day found him delicately pushing the boundaries of the jazz tradition, as on a tribute to Nirvana frontman "Cobain," in which he wrapped himself in longtime collaborator Bill Frisell's shimmering guitar textures.

BANGS (Jason Moran / Ron Miles / Mary Halvorson) - The Bijou Theatre, Knoxville, Tennessee, March 25, 2018

Plenty of bad news to go around these days, but some of the worst news (in the music world at least) was that we lost Ron Miles last week. The Denver-based musician/educator wasn't exactly a household name, but he was an incredible player, capable of finding a place in a dizzying array of settings. I was lucky enough to see him a few times out here, but now, of course, I realize I should have seen him at least a dozen more times.

"If you played a Ron Miles song right, in the best of moods you'd be crying," pianist Jason Moran told NPR. "Because the songs were full. I equate it to the way John Coltrane made 'Lonnie's Lament.' He knew how to find the joy in a melody, and he knew where the heart was in it. Even just in the moment of playing them, it would just rush over you. A lot of music we play doesn't have that, it just doesn't."

RIP to legendary jazz trumpeter