Capital Region Jazz Hero
We of the jazz community in the greater New York Capital Region are deeply honored to be afforded the opportunity by the Jazz Journalists Association to acknowledge jazz drummer, percussionist, historian/ archivist, educator, lecturer and generous mentor Harold “Hal” Miller as our Jazz Hero.
Hal has enjoyed a multi-faceted life. He grew up in the South Bronx as an honor student, athlete and altar boy. Along with his teenage classmate Tom Pierce (“Vocal Traditions” lecturer), Hal attended venues like Harlem’s Apollo theater and downtown Manhattan’s nightclubs to hear the 1950s legends of rhythm and blues. Hal formed a doo-wop vocal group, and though underaged found his way into the jazz clubs — with permission from staff, sitting quietly in the back, nursing a soda, gleaning wisdom from the masters of the time.
Hal graduated from SUNY Potsdam, where he again surrounded himself with great music and up-and-coming musicians. He played basketball and was named Most Valuable Player. He earned a Master’s in Education from University Albany and settled in the Capital Region to teach English in the juvenile justice system. Miller retired in 1996 after an extensive and meaningful 25-year career as an administrator for the New York State Division for Youth.
But in addition, he pursued two music vocations. For more than 40 years, Hal Miller has been a jazz drummer/Latin percussionist, as well as writer, lecturer, devout music and video collector and historian. In these roles, he has gotten to know and interview hundreds of world class musicians, who have provided him enormous experience, insight and information that he has in turn shared with students and other music lovers around the world. Through collecting and archiving jazz videos Miller befriended and played with Carlos Santana, and came to be an important consultant to Ken Burns’ Jazz as well as to the excellent Jazz Icons DVD series of vintage concerts.
Miller has served on the faculty of the Skidmore Summer Jazz Institute for 25 years, and he’s lectured often in schools such as the University of North Texas (Denton), Louisville University, Bard College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hampshire College. As music director for Jazz Video Network (JVN), he worked to deliver jazz video music and history to schools around the country via webcasting.
Capital Region audiences know Hal’s playing from his band’s appearances at venues such as well-remembered Justin’s and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with Carlos Santana, an association of more than 35 years (Hal, along with Ashley Kahn, co-authored the rock star’s biography, The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light). We’ve enjoyed his commentary as he’s shared his unique, world-class video collection with us locally at Borders Books and Music, Tess Collins old Lark Tavern and local library branches. Throughout the years, he’s made sure that jazz musicians, especially new ones, could connect with colleagues and be heard.
He’s retired from the bandstand, but the Capital Region knows Hal Miller continues heroically as a life-long ambassador of jazz.
—Linda E. Brown
Double-bassist, bandleader, arts advocate
Member, AFM
Board Member, A Place for Jazz
Co-founder, Hudson Valley Jazzwomen
