pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

I got this email this past week about a new album from Ani DiFranco drummer Allison Miller – who I can say was a delight to watch play when I saw her with Ani in the spring of 2008.  The album description sounds fantastic to me!  I can’t wait to hear it.

The example that Miller sets on BOOM TIC BOOM is that of a powerhouse drummer with an unerring sense of swing and a moving melodicism; an inventive composer with a gift for memorable tunes that leave ample space for bright improvisations; and a bandleader who ably marries these pieces with the right collaborators to breathe life into them. Here, those collaborators are pianist/composer Myra Melford; longtime collaborator Todd Sickafoose on bass; and guest violinist Jenny Scheinman on one track.

Half of the album is comprised of original pieces penned by Miller during a one-month break from the road during the summer of 2008. The diversity of influences evident in the music belies the short time span in which it was written but is reflective of the wealth of musical experience that makes up Miller’s résumé.

For BOOM TIC BOOM, Miller assembled a trio that she knew would stretch the limits of the music she had written. “I come from a straight ahead jazz tradition,” she explains, “but I play so many different styles of music that I don’t want to stick strictly to that tradition. So, for BOOM TIC BOOM I wanted more of an avant-garde approach to my semi-traditional compositions.”

http://www.allisonmiller.com/ – Order the CD

I dig Allison, in addition to both Todd Sickafoose and Jenny Scheinman.  I think this is gonna be right up my alley…

~Dan – np: Heatmiser – Cop and Speeder