Mulgrew Miller

An immensely gifted pianist steeped in the jazz and gospel traditions, Mulgrew Miller had a boldly rhythmic, harmonically rich style that drew from players like Oscar Peterson, McCoy Tyner, and Bud Powell. Miller came into his own as a member of the Jazz Messengers in the '80s before issuing his own highly regarded albums, like 1985's Keys to the City, 1987's Wingspan, and 1994's With Our Own Eyes. An in-demand sideman, he played with artists such as Branford Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Wallace Roney, Tony Williams, and Kenny Garrett. Along with performing, he was the Director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University. His solo piano album, Solo, arrived in 2010, just three years before he died tragically from a stroke. Miller remains one of the most beloved and highly regarded pianists of his generation, a sentiment buoyed by such archival releases as 2021's In Harmony with Roy Hargrove.