MAR 23-26 | SAMMY MILLER & THE CONGREGATION
Mar 23 - Mar 26, 2023
Joe Henderson Lab
PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production
Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.
Original show description below.
Please note: Dance floor is General Admission standing room only. If you would prefer seats, please select a different level for this show.
Drummer Sammy Miller makes no bones about it. He wants to bring jazz to the people and he’s found true believers in the young members of his six-piece Congregation, which returns for four nights in the Joe Henderson Lab.
Evangelists of swing, they’ve earned an avid New York City following by drawing on a century of American songs, inviting listeners in with familiar melodies and rollicking rhythms. Miller started assembling the Congregation in 2014 after earning a Master’s degree from Juilliard. The group honed an ecstatic approach to music-making playing late night sessions at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and Sundays at The Woods, a Brooklyn nightspot where they’re the only jazz act on the schedule.
After releasing their self-titled 2017 “mix tape” that includes enthralling renditions of folk tunes (“Lil’ Liza Jane”), spirituals (“Just A Closer Walk with Thee”), Jelly Roll Morton (“Black Bottom Stomp”) and Scott Joplin (“Maple Leaf Rag”), the band issued 2020’s Leaving Egypt, consisting primarily of original material, followed by the single “Who’s Back in Town?'' in 2021. And as superb as these recordings certainly are, they only suggest the unbridled energy and joy of their live shows. Converting new audiences and captivating longtime jazz fans, Miller and the Congregation make 21st century music by embracing some 150 years of American music – something they call “joyful jazz”.
Converting new audiences and captivating longtime jazz fans, Miller and the Congregation make 21st century music by embracing some 150 years of American music – something they call “joyful jazz”.
This is feel-good party jazz, harking back to the '20s and '30s. It's brassy, stomp your feet and dance music, and it's got the raw, uplifting vibe of a New Orleans street parade.
SF Weekly
This is feel-good party jazz, harking back to the '20s and '30s. It's brassy, stomp your feet and dance music, and it's got the raw, uplifting vibe of a New Orleans street parade.
SF Weekly
Personnel
THU, MAR 23
Sammy Miller drums, vocals
Molly Miller guitar
Corbin Jones bass
David Linard piano
FRI-SUN, MAR 24-26
Sammy Miller drums, vocals
Alphonso Horne trumpet
Ben Flocks tenor saxophone
Molly Miller guitar
Corbin Jones bass
David Linard piano
Miller and his young six-piece Congregation have earned an avid New York City following by drawing on a century of American songs, inviting listeners in with familiar melodies and rollicking rhythms.
San Jose Mercury News
Personnel
THU, MAR 23
Sammy Miller drums, vocals
Molly Miller guitar
Corbin Jones bass
David Linard piano
FRI-SUN, MAR 24-26
Sammy Miller drums, vocals
Alphonso Horne trumpet
Ben Flocks tenor saxophone
Molly Miller guitar
Corbin Jones bass
David Linard piano
Miller and his young six-piece Congregation have earned an avid New York City following by drawing on a century of American songs, inviting listeners in with familiar melodies and rollicking rhythms.
San Jose Mercury News
Watch & Listen
Sammy Miller & The Congregation
Bluebird
Sammy Miller & The Congregation
Shine
Sammy Miller & The Congregation
Bluebird
Sammy Miller & The Congregation
Shine