Ron Miles 1963-2022

When you listen to Black American Music for over 50 years, over that time one discover musicians whose music you automatically gravitate to. Sometimes it's the sound of their instrument or how their music immediately draws you in or the company they keep or the messages in their music.

Photo: Thomas J. Krebs

For this writer, Ron Miles was one such person. Since first hearing him alongside guitarist Bill Frisell in the mid-1990s, I have been attracted by how his sound and melodic approach fits into the ensembles he plays with and how that translates into the music he creates with for his own recordings.  Plus, he was a great mentor for his students––Miles has been on the Music Faculty of the Metropolitan State University of Denver since the late 1990s.  He and his family had moved to Denver, CO, from Indianapolis when he was 11. Unlike many jazz musicians who go to New York City or Los Angeles, Miles, as his family grew, stayed close to home.   

Still, his association with Bill Frisell lasted throughout the last quarter century-plus. Miles appeared on six of the guitarist's album while Frisell shows up on five of his.  It's a delightful musical relationship; they push and pull against each other at times but most of the time they engage in a musical dialogue that belies influences and embraces melody.  Miles also worked alongside Matt Wilson, Denver-based saxophonist Fred Hess, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, Joshua Redman, and drummer Ginger Baker among many others––he always managed to sound like himself in every situation.

Photo: Alan Nahigan?WSJ

His two most recent albums as a leader, "I Am a Man" (Yellowbird/Enja) and "Rainbow Sign" (Blue Note) feature the quintet of Miles, Frisell, Jason Moran, Brian Blade, and Thomas Morgan combine so many different elements such as folk music, spirituals, blues, social commentary, and more.  The group created music one could get lost inside, feel challenged yet come out of the experience satisfied.  

It was this quintet that reopened the Village Vanguard in October of 2021.  Now, less than five months, Ron Miles has succumbed to a rare heart ailment (Polycythemia Vera). His music, his mentorship, his family, all live on. He set such a great example of how to be a human being, illustrating how a musician can be part of the local community and the global community without giving up his identity.  Still, he died much too young.

 Here is music to keep you company:

Here's a fascinating trio of Otis Taylor, Jason Moran, and Ron Miles:

Here's Ron Miles with Joshua Redman, Brian Blade, and Scott Colley paying tribute to Dewey Redman and the group Old & New Dreams: