JAZZ @ THE PRINCETON FESTIVAL

The Mulgrew Miller Trio: Mulgrew Miller (p), Rodney Green (d), Ivan Taylor (b)

Sunday, June 15th, 2008, 4 pm

The piano-bass-drums trio is one of the iconic groupings in jazz. It is, in fact, what many people think of when they think of jazz. Yet its tradition is not as old as one might think. The emergence of the classic trio dates pretty much from the days after the great transformation of the late 1940’s when new, ”modern” harmonic and rhythmic ideas were introduced into swing by the boppers. Piano trios existed before that, of course, but they tended to be devices to feature the pianist – today’s trios are far more democratic – joint ventures, one might say. Bud Powell was the greatest of the bop pianists, and his trio recordings with bassists George Duvivier, Tommy Potter, and Curly Russell and the great drummers Max Roach, Arthur Taylor, and Roy Haynes are still brilliant examples of the very best of jazz – and, happily, still easily available. This June, JazzNights and the Princeton Festival present the Mulgrew Miller trio, a linear descendent of Bud Powell’s trio, one of today’s very best current examples of this form of the art. All of Mr. Miller’s groups have a keen historical sense – Mr. Miller knows the literature of this music. He is from Greenwood, near Philadelphia – Philadelphia, Mississippi, that is, and so he is steeped in the blues, which strongly influence his music. At the same time, he has internalized the mid-century intellectual transformations of the boppers. One of his larger groups, the wonderful sextet called “Wingspan,” is named for Charlie, "Bird," Parker, the greatest agent in the modernization of jazz. There is great virtuosity in Miller’s playing as well, and his trio makes the best of the opportunity in a small group to exploit transparency and what one might call “independence within the group.” The music you will hear will be both emotional and intellectual. Mr. Miller appears all over the world, and can often be heard in New York. He is surely one of the most widely recorded artists on the jazz scene today and is active in jazz education. He is the current Director of the Jazz Studies Program at William Patterson University. If you can't get to one of his frequent New York appearances, Mr. Miller and his trios can best be heard on a set of four excellent live CDs on MaxJazz, "Live at Yoshi's, Vols. 1 and 2," and "Live at Lincoln Center, Vols. 1 and 2." This June, Mr. Miller will be joined by the members of his current working trio, bassist Ivan Taylor and drummer Rodney Green. These two gentlemen are not mere timekeepers or chord anchorers, but full participants in the group effort. Mr. Taylor is one of a cadre of excellent young bassists around today, and is possessed of a great time sense, a strong tone, and a vivid imagination. Mr. Green, too, stands out in a sea of excellent young performers. A group leader in his own right, this young man would be our choice as the likely successor to Lewis Nash as the best in his profession.