Nova Scotia-based saxophonist and composer Nicola Miller is launching her debut album Living Things December 13th. For it, she’s joining the roster of celebrated American experimental music imprint Cacophonous Revival, home to releases that feature the likes of Jessica Ackerley, Patrick Shiroishi, Camila Nebbia and others…
It wasn’t so long ago that Canadian saxophonist and composer Nicola Miller found herself on a path of artistic rejuvenation and her inventive debut, LivingThings on Cacophonous Revival Recordings represents the culmination of this trajectory. After completing her initial training in jazz performance almost twenty years ago, Miller faced the doubt and exhaustion that’s all too common among graduates of such programs. So often, musicians—especially women— leave institutions feeling as though they need to ask permission to make music rather than with the tools to launch their careers. “There is something to be said about the very misogynist and male-dominated culture that prevailed in jazz school and how that is changing for the better,” she reveals. At that point however, “it was strong enough that I didn’t want to remain in this culture and struggled to find another place to exist in music.”
For much of the decade following her subsequent music education degree, it looked as though she was heading away from playing music professional. Fortunately for listeners, several factors led her to rediscovering the visceral joy of playing, and helped her to establish the staunchly individual artistic stance we witness on Living Things. Where things first started to shift in terms of her creativity was during a four year period teaching fiddle to children in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory close to Montréal. The raw, palpable excitement that her students displayed was contagious, and she thrived having somewhere to direct her passion for music, where she was also constantly learning.
For her, Kahnawà:ke was a place where music generated community and a sense of hope and occasion. However, when she later moved to rural Nova Scotia, where she now resides, this vicarious enthusiasm dissipated. After attempting to reignite it with a brief foray into fddle lessons of her own, she ultimately wound up returning to the saxophone for a rigorous practice regime. She then enrolled in a Master’s program at Jazz Institut Berlin – Universität Der Kunst, where she quickly connected with the renowned improviser, composer, and winds player Frank Gratkowski, whose similar outlook proved pivotal for her.
Gratkowski became her mentor and a friend, providing the perfect balance of critique and reassurance, grounding her in own artistic instincts. When she began assembling the titular band for Living Things, it felt natural to include him in the group, even with the remainder of the band being based in Canada. Miller regards this group as her “dream ensemble” as it draws upon some of her most cherished colleagues.
Nicholas D’Amato (bass) is a fellow Nova Scotia resident and one of Miller’s most frequent collaborators.Prior to moving to there, he studied with Michael Formanek for ten years and spent nearly twenty years immersed in New York City’s jazz scene, playing at beloved venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Birdland, The 55 Bar, and The Jazz Standard. He remains active as a teacher and touring artist.
Doug Tielli has been friends with Miller since directly after undergrad years in Toronto, and plays trombone and saw, in addition to singing through a tube on “Flies”. Tielli is known his unique singer-songwriter output on labels such as Tin Angel as well as a body of more experimental work with Eric Chenaux, Brodie West, John Oswald, Martin Arnold, Ryan Driver and others.
Miller became better acquainted with drummer Nick Fraser during her time in Berlin, where Fraser would visit to perform with Lina Allemano. Fraser is one of Canada’s most readily identifiable and sought-after drummers working with the likes of Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock, Tony Malaby, Brodie West, Marilyn Crispell, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, and William Parker.
Frank Gratkowski‘s output traverses the broad context of contemporary improvised music, refusing to distinguish between composition and improvisation. Along the way he has enjoyed collaborations with the likes of Wilbert de Joode, Wolter Wierbos, Gerry Hemmingway, performances at Donaueschinger Festival and the Huddersfeld Contemporary Music Festival, playing as a soloist with the orchestra of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), and compositions for celebrated groups such as Ensemble Modern, Zeitkratzer, and Ensemble Musikfabrik. In 2005 he received the prestigious SWR Jazz Prize.
photo by Jill Stella-Richards
Miller’s music employs ingredients that will feel familiar to curious-eared listeners, but she situates them in disorienting and utterly personal configurations. Her affinity for jazz is irrefutable even though the music’s overall thrust is decidedly experimental. One can certainly hear its pulse in the album’s more driving passages, such as on “Night Crawlers,” yet it’s audible even there in the more abstract pieces. “Buffeheads,” for instance, intersperses slow smeared unison lines between textural detours in something that vaguely recalls “Lonely Woman” while also nodding in the general direction of Wandelweiser composers. Some pieces have clear solos and impassioned spontaneous exchanges, but she’s also not afraid to set the music adrift through long moments that refuse to disclose the direction they’re headed.
Miller’s compositional outlook feels akin to strains of modern chamber music, even when her group swings. She describes the prevalent approach on this collections as cellular, noting that “the title Living Things reflects both the biological significance of the cell—the fundamental unit of life—and its role as the smallest structural component in each composition,” however there are numerous other devices at play. “Barge,” for instance, uses a field recording of a barge tied to a dock as a score to guide collective improvisation. “Seagulls” uses a transcription of slowed-down seagull cries as its basis, while the video graphic score of “Seaweed” captures the effect of moving water on rooted seaweed. Many of the pieces encompass a range of material, with clear shifts of instrumental colour, density, and approach delineating different units. Others unfold more mysteriously with written material evolving gradually or threaded throughout delicate texture. Her writing so often encourages sensitivity to the overall ensemble sound as well, meaning that orchestration is just as responsible for imparting particular qualities to each of the pieces, as the individual agency of each player. Living Things is an imaginative and mature debut that will no doubt leave listeners curious to hear what Miller will produce next.
Nicola Miller is based on the South Shore of Nova Scotia where she has become a vital part of the maritime creative music ecosystem. She has appeared in performances alongside Nicole Rampersaud, Charlotte Hug, Terri Hron, India Gailey, Enrique Luna, Nathan McLaughlin, Uri Caine, Tim Crofts, Glenn Patscha, Nick Halley and was also featured on Joyfultalk‘s celebrated Familiar Science album for Constellation. As a composer, she’s received commissions from the UpStream Orchestra, an improvising large ensemble founded by the legendary Paul Cram, as well as the Alkali Collective. In addition to her private studies with Frank Gratkowski she also counts Kirk Nurock, Theo Bleckmann, and Grammy-nominated composer John Hollenbeck as among her teachers. Miller holds a Master’s degree from UdK’s Jazz Institut Berlin and a Bachelor’s Degree from Toronto’s Humber College.
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Nicola Miller — Living Things
Out: December 13, 2024 on Cacophonous Revival Recordings
(CRR-025 — LP/CD/DL)
Genres: Experimental Jazz
CD/ DIGITAL
1. Barge 2. Night Crawlers
3. Poplar 4. Buffeheads
5. Living Things 6. Seaweed
7. Seagulls 8. Flies
LP
A 1. Night Crawlers
2. Living Things
B 1. Buffeheads 2. Poplar
3. Seagulls 4. Flies
Line up:
Nicola Miller: Alto Saxophone,
Frank Gratkowski: Bass Clarinet / Alto Saxophone(on “Buffeheads”),
Doug Tielli: Trombone / Saw (on “Seagulls”) / Voice through tube (on “Flies”),
Nicholas D’Amato: Upright Bass,
Nick Fraser: Drums.
All Compositions by Nicola Miller
Mixed and Mastered by Sandro Perri. Recorded at Stonehouse Sound by John D.S. Adams. Graphic design and artwork Carola Nebbia