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DR. LLOYD MILLER BACKGROUND

EUROPE

      
In 1958, Miller left Iran where he had stayed for a year to travel to Beirut where he performed at main hotels and arranged music for the main jazz ensemble. He then travelled to Germany to perform at various jazz centers such as the Domicile du Jazz in Frankfurt with Peter Trunk and Albert Mangelsdorf, the Jazzkeller in Mainz with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris and Maffy Falay, in Weisbaden, Kaiserslauten, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Bad Nauheim and on a riverboat with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris and the US army Jazz Three musicians.

      After a time in Germany, Miller went to Geneva Switzerland to study Eastern languages and play at the Cave du Hot Club and other establishments. From Switzerland, Miller travelled to Sweden where the jazz scene was quite active. There he played with Sweden's top jazzmen such as Bernt Rosengren, Lars Farnlof (Färnlöf), Lennart Jansson and arranged music for several bands including Simor Ostervald's band, all over the country including Nalen and Grönalund in Stockholm,Göteburg, Köping, Uppsala, Norrköping, Jönköping, Västerås, Gävle, Söderhamn, Sundsvall, Umeå, Hälsingborg, Malmö including several radio and folkpark appearances.

Miller's driver's license in Sweden

Article on Miller's debut in Sweden



Article on Miller printed in Norway


       After a year of successes performing and writing music for various Swedish bands Miller left Stockholm with two virtuoso instrumentalists Bary saxist Lennart Jansson and bassist Connie Lundin. The group stopped off in Germany where they stunned the jazz fans and musicians there before settling for a time in Brussels where they were invited to be featured at the Comblain-la-Tours international jazz festival. There they were highly successful and were featured on a jazz radio station and eventually recorded with an Italian record company.

Miller at Comblain-la-Tours Jazz Festival, 1960

      In Burssels, Miller played at the famous Rose Noire off the Grand Place, where Guitarist Philippe Catherine sat in with IJQ and Belgium bassist Freddy Deronde joined the group, Miller also played at the Blue Note and in Liege with alro saxophonist Jaques Pelzer.

Miller's IJQ with Lennart Jansson & Freddie Deronde at the Rose Noire in Brussels, 1960


MILLER'S INTERNATIONAL JAZZ QUARTET AT THE ROSE NOIRE IN 1961,

HEAR EXERPTS OF IJQ WITH
Lennart Jansson - bary sax, Lloyd Miller - piano,
Freddy DeRonde - bass, George Solano - drums


Miller's composition Blue Rue, (100 sec.mp3)
blues, (35 sec.mp3)
It's You or No One, (50 sec.mp3)
In Your Own Sweet Way, (100 sec.mp3)
Back Home in Indiana, (60 sec.mp3)
Minor Blues, (60 sec.mp3)
Dig, (55 sec.mp3)
Cherokee, (50 sec.mp3)

with guitarist Philip Catherine, (115 sec.mp3)

with alto saxist Jaques Pelzer, (130 sec.mp3)

      In 1967 when Miller was working on his master's at University of Utah, he was invited back to Belgium to play at the International Jazz Festival in Bilzen and also radio / television appearances arranged by noted Belgium jazz DJ Nicolas Dor. During that visit Miller also appeared in Oostende and Knokke on the North Sea.

Miller at the Bilzen Jazz Festival in Belgium, 1967


Miller's trio at the Blue Note in Oostende, Belgium, 1967


       When Miller and the Swedish jazz greats Jansson and Lundin arrived in Paris in 1959, they were an immediate success. In Paris Miller performed at all the top jazz spots and other venues such as Salle Pleyel, Salle Wagram, Théatre de l'Etoile, l'Ecole Normale de Musique, Théatre du Vieux-Colombier, the Blue Note, Mars Club, Club Saint Germain, Chat qui Pêche, Caméléon, Trois Mailletz, Caveau de la Huchette and other locations around Paris. At the famous Blue Note in Paris, Miller would be asked by jazz legend Bud Powel to sit in a set or two with jazz drumer Kenny Clark.

Miller's driver's license in France, 1963


       Eventually, Miller met the famous French jazz innovator Jef Gilson who was on the way to the top of the French jazz scene. With Miller as featured soloist on various instruments, Gilson's group became the rage in the French jazz scene in the early 1960s. With Jef Gilson, Miller toured France for the French radio (ORTF) sponsored by respected jazz DJ Andre Fancis adding to the towns where he had played before working with Gilson. The places Miller played outside of Paris included: Lille, Rouen, Cherbourg, Nancy, Bar-le-Duc, Festival de Coulombs and more.

Miller featured on Jef Gilson LP, Paris 1961


Liner notes on Jef Gilson LP, Paris 1961


      
Later in the 1970s when Miller was on a Fullbright working on his PhD dissertation in Iran, he was invited to Italy where he performed in the Adriatic resort town Milano Maritima and with Tony Scott and Romano Mussolini in Cervia.

Miller with Tony Scott in Cervia, Italy 1972


Youth and U.S. | Miller in Europe | Miller In Utah | TV and Film | In Iran


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