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Allison Miller
(October 2005 Issue)
Of Two Minds Allison Miller's playing
career is
all about balance these days. First, she's the drummer in
alternative-pop diva Natalie Merchant's band. She's
also the drummer of
choice for jazz keyboardist Rachel Z, touring behind her trio's tribute
to Wayne Shorter, On The
Milky Way Express (Tone Center). And Miller
recently cut an album with tenor sax player Virginia Mayhew, with
Kenny
Barron, Harvie S, and Adam Cruz.
The twenty-six-year-old drummer understands the
musical
adjustment between those gigs. "With jazz," Allison says, "there's a
certain way you play ahead of the beat a
little. With pop, especially
with Natalie's band, it's a different feeling. It's minimal. Rachel has
said,
'When playing pop you have to put all of your soul into one note
instead of ten.' You have to make that one note
count. And you can't
miss the snare on the backbeat when you're playing for 10,000 people."
Recording
On the Milky Way Express was something of a labor of
love, says Miller, who was excited over the chance to do a tribute
to
one of her favorite composers - especially as a trio. "It kind of takes a
lot of nerve to do a trio record of Wayne's
music," the drummer says.
"But Rachel's got a lot of nerve."
Robin Tolleson
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