East Meets West

It’s an indescribably fulfilling to hear how The Heliocentrics once again adjust to the playing style and instrumentation of their collaborator. In this case, the London group help Dr. Miller in the making of this excellent contribution to jazz music. Born to a family where his father played clarinet and his mother was a ballet dancer, Miller spent time in Tehran, Beirut and most of continental Europe before receiving a B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in Persian Studies from the University of Utah. During this time, he developed a talent for playing santur, zarb, oud, sehtar, dan tranh and dam kim in addition to piano. Persistent touring over the years has helped him stay fresh as a septuagenarian. The origins of this collaboration can be traced to a Jazzman compilation out earlier this year called A Lifetime in Oriental Jazz, which netted an invitation to the U.K. to work with Nostalgia 77 and The Heliocentrics. The latter collaboration produced an EP, and further studio time in February 2010 led to the music presented here.

The evolving chameleon-like Heliocentrics collective called upon seven of its members and a couple of guests. Miller, who has been working with various Eastern cultures since 1950, wrote or co-wrote ten of the set's 13 cuts, most of them with various members of the Heliocentrics, with a couple of traditional tunes in the mix as well. The styles reflected here range from "Modality," with Miller on clarinet referencing John Coltrane, to a re-recording of his "Electricone"; to "Nava," a melody in the Persian scale on which he plays four different instruments backed only by a rhythm section. The release was described by one critic with the following words: “It is equally sensual and irresistible, this exotic combination of oriental flavors, twisted in a free jazz form, doctor Miller’s tools of the trade for the last 50 years, all mixed up with the ethnic jazz instrumentation of the British music collective The Heliocentrics. As for them, the orbits of hip-hop, funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and ethnic music all revolve around “The One”.

“Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics” was recorded and mixed in 2010, over half a year, from December to May at Quatermass Studio in London.