Big Miller
Encyclopedia
Clarence Horatio "Big" Miller (December 18, 1922, Sioux City, Iowa
- June 9, 1992, Edmonton
, Alberta
) was an American jazz
and blues
singer, chiefly associated with the Kansas City
blues style.
Miller won fame as a "blues shouter
", a musician whose vocal force was powerful enough that it could be heard in an auditorium with a big band
behind it even without using a microphone. He also occasionally performed on trombone. He recorded for Savoy Records
early in his career, including with The Five Pennies
as backing musicians. His jazz activities also included work with Count Basie
and Duke Ellington
. After performing with John Hendricks
's revue, The Evolution of the Blues, Miller signed with Columbia Records
and released several full-length albums. He had a short side career as an actor, appearing in Big Meat Eater (1982), A Name for Evil
(1973), and a cameo in the comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
.
In the 1970s Miller toured with Big Joe Turner
, then moved to Canada
, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. He lived there for the rest of his life, working with local musician Tommy Banks
and cover
ing "Big Yellow Taxi
" with the song's author, Albertan Joni Mitchell
. He was the subject of a documentary
released by the National Film Board of Canada
in 1987. Miller played a major role in the growth of the Edmonton Jazz Society, which began in the late 1970s, and taught at the Banff Centre
for Fine Arts.
Jay McShann
wrote a tribute piano solo piece to Miller, entitled "Big Miller's Blues".
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
- June 9, 1992, Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
) was an American jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, chiefly associated with the Kansas City
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
blues style.
Miller won fame as a "blues shouter
Blues shouter
A blues shouter is a blues singer, often male, capable of singing with a band. The singer must project, or "shout", to be heard over the drums and musical instruments of the band. Blues shouting was a major pathway by which jazz music edged over into rock and roll...
", a musician whose vocal force was powerful enough that it could be heard in an auditorium with a big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
behind it even without using a microphone. He also occasionally performed on trombone. He recorded for Savoy Records
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
early in his career, including with The Five Pennies
The Five Pennies
The Five Pennies was a semi-biographical 1959 film starring Danny Kaye as cornet player and bandleader Red Nichols. Other cast members included Barbara Bel Geddes, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Susan Gordon, and Tuesday Weld...
as backing musicians. His jazz activities also included work with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. After performing with John Hendricks
John Hendricks
John Hendricks is the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, a broadcasting and film production company which owns the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet cable tv networks, among other ventures.-Early life:...
's revue, The Evolution of the Blues, Miller signed with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and released several full-length albums. He had a short side career as an actor, appearing in Big Meat Eater (1982), A Name for Evil
A Name for Evil
A Name for Evil is a 1973 American horror film starring Samantha Eggar and Robert Culp.-Plot:Dissatisfied with the family architectural business, a man and his wife pack up and move out to his great-grandfather's old house in the country...
(1973), and a cameo in the comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
.
In the 1970s Miller toured with Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
, then moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, settling in Edmonton, Alberta. He lived there for the rest of his life, working with local musician Tommy Banks
Tommy Banks
Thomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator....
and cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
ing "Big Yellow Taxi
Big Yellow Taxi
"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written and originally performed by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was a big hit in her native Canada as well as Australia and the UK...
" with the song's author, Albertan Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. He was the subject of a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
released by the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
in 1987. Miller played a major role in the growth of the Edmonton Jazz Society, which began in the late 1970s, and taught at the Banff Centre
Banff Centre
The Banff Centre, formerly known as The Banff Centre for Continuing Education, is an arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference complex located in Banff, Alberta...
for Fine Arts.
Jay McShann
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
wrote a tribute piano solo piece to Miller, entitled "Big Miller's Blues".
External links
- [ Entry at allmusic.com]
- Edmonton Jazz Society at yardbirdsuite.com