Jeffery Miller | Life After Juilliard

In May, I graduated and later that month released my first album, Songs About Women. On Juneteenth we released a special Black Lives Matter version that includes the bonus track black and blue, which is dedicated to Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who died at the hands of police officers in March. In a way the project got rolling last year, when I was offered the opportunity to play a week of late-night sessions at Dizzy’s Club, for which I wanted to compose some new pieces. Through that process, I came to realize how important being raised by women is to my being. For my mom, Dominey Marie Miller—who passed away when I was just over 1 year old—I wrote Marie.

COVID has presented some unique challenges. While I would usually be performing jazz with my friends all across New York City, I've found this to be an awesome time to focus on songwriting and arrangement. My home studio allows me to work towards my goal to tour the world with my own songs once it's safe for everyone to get together at their favorite venues. In the meantime, I'm escaped to Maine for a retreat with my producer to cut some new songs and present you with the fruits of our labor before the end of the year.

Trombonist Jeffery Miller (BM ’18, MM ’20, jazz studies)