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My Postgraduate Jazz Recital LCM in 1994 (piano): Hackensack by Thelonius Monk

charangasue — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:48:21 +0000

01 Sue Miller Postgraduate Recital hackensack

Sue Miller – piano

John Day – bass

Ronnie Bottomley – drums

New Review of CD Look Back in Charanga

charangasue — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:49:00 +0000

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Look Back in Charanga

Sue Miller & Charanga del Norte
Look Back in Charanga

Charanga del Norte CDN OOCD10

Accomplished flautist and Cuban music expert Sue Miller deserves an apology from me. This CD arrived last summer, and was played then, but somehow slipped down into a pile…This is someone who knows her stuff and loves nothing more than a good descarga (jam session). She feels Cuban music in her blood, and the band behind her does some sterling work. That she’s the star is beyond doubt, and her freewheeling, spiralling improvisations are joyful to hear. Bonus points for coming from Leeds and the delightful wordplay in the title, but the meat is in the performance, which is as tasty as they come – within Cuba or outside.

DJ Chris Nickson

New Review of Look Back in Charanga in Rock n Reel

charangasue — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:13:10 +0000

My Jazz Piano Recital at LCM in 1994

charangasue — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:35:01 +0000

Just discovered a tape of my postgraduate recital at LCM from 1994 – here’s the rough recording of my Bill Evans tribute ‘When I Fall in Love’:

jazz piano 1

piano – Sue Miller

bass – John Day

drums – Ronnie Bottomley

New on-stream track Lola Catula

charangasue — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:13:44 +0000

Check out the new track Lola Catula #2 on the recordings page – just added today!

Look Back in Charanga – Press Release

charangasue — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:02:09 +0000

Sue Miller and her Charanga del Norte

LOOK BACK IN CHARANGA

Artist: Sue Miller and her Charanga del Norte

Album: Look Back in Charanga

Cat: CDN 00CD10

Release: 13 May 2010

CD on sale from: http://www.passiondiscs.co.uk

Track Listing

Mambo
El Bodeguero #1
Richard Egües on the Danzón and the Chachachá
El Bodeguero #2
Lola Catula #1
Melquiades Fundora on the Charanga
Sabroso como el Guarapo
Isora Club
Lola Catula #2

LIVE IN THE UK

13 MAY – Seven Arts Centre, Leeds

30 JULY – Grimsby Townhall (Arts Festival)

CONTACT

s.miller@charangasue.com

07957 244 167

www.charangasue.com

http://www.charangasue.com/charanga-del-norte/

‘Look Back in Charanga’ is the sequel to ‘Our Mam in Havana’:

Carrying on with the puns Look Back in Charanga pays homage to all the greats of Cuban popular music, in particular to the legendary Richard Egües from Orquesta Aragón.

Bandleader and charanga flute improviser Sue Miller studied flute improvisation with Richard Egües in Havana in 2000 and 2001 and has since worked with some of Cuba’s finest traditional charanga players. This recording pays homage to the great charanga flute players and musicians past and present who have developed the Danzón, Mambo, Chachachá and the Pachanga, namely: Richard Egües, Israel López ‘Cachao’, Antonio Arcaño, Belisario López, José Fajardo, Melquiades Fundora, Pancho Bravo, Johnny Pacheco, Eddy Zervigon, Eduardo Rubio, Nestor Torres and Joaquín Oliveros.

The Band:

Flute and Vocals: Sue Miller;

Viola: Nick Williams

Violins: Jon Lindh, Sharleen Samuels and Katarzyna Chruscicka

Cello: Andy Wardale

Piano: Simon Siddol and Mark Donlon

Bass: Ruth Bitelli

Timbales: Matty Shallcross

Güiro: Y Josephine

Congas and Extra Percussion: Jack McCarthy

“Leeds-based Charanga del Norte were an ensemble of Latin-loving northerners that included a cellist from the Liverpool Philharmonic. Their blend of European classical music and African rhythms sparkled in the afternoon sunshine, buoyed by founder Sue Miller’s ubiquitous flute.”

Jane Cornwell, Evening Standard – on Charanga del Norte’s concert with Orquesta Aragón in Victoria Park, London, 21 June 2009

Reviews of Cuban Music on www.gondwanasound.co.uk

charangasue — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:30:08 +0000

Recent CD Reviews of Cuban and Salsa music by Sue Miller are available on www.gondwanasound.co.uk

Amadito Valdes

Bajando Gervasio

[Review] Resistencia

Submitted by charangasue on 3 December, 2008 – 00:24.

Sue Miller reviews Bajando Gervasio, showcasing the talents of Buena Vista Social Club timbale player Amadito Valdes. ‘Bajando Gervasio’ features inventive arrangements and a feast of beautiful solos set against a backdrop of elegant clarity from a tight and ‘timbre-ful’ percussion section….

The timbale player Amadito Valdes, the unsung hero of the Buena Vista Social Club, is profiled here on ‘Bajando Gervasio’, his first solo recording, named after a street in Havana famous for its wealth of music past and present. The arrangements cover Cuban styles from Danzón to Contradanza, Changui-Son, Guaguanco, Bolero, Guajira and Descarga and are full of twists and turns, unexpected breaks and beautiful solos. You have to wait until track three though (’La Fiesta de Amadito’) for a timbale solo from the maestro himself, although his ensemble playing is full of all the Cuban stylistic patterns and his tasteful embellishments and breaks support the whole band. For those who love the BVSC recordings the ‘call and response’ Son and Descarga tracks are going to delight, with the fiery trombone inspiraciones of Jesus ‘Aguaje’ Ramos and the cool coros of Idania Valdes.

The opening Latin jazz track by Maraca Valle (’Celine’s Groove’) is followed by a fantastic arrangement by Juan de Marcos Gonzalez that is vey much in the vein of his ‘Habana del Este’ arrangement (from the first Afro-Cuban All Stars album), with its bowed cello and flute dialogue on the Danzón section followed by a Chachachá with a pithy Charanga-style percussive flute solo from veteran BVSC player Polo Tamayo. There’s a Guanguanco for the fans of Cuban Rumba and a wealth of solos for those who like great improvisation (notably Maraca Valle’s flute solo on ‘Bajando Gervasio’, a virtuosic piano solo from David Alfaro on ‘Mamina’ and the ever brilliant soloing of Barbarito Torres on laoud on ‘Achy’s Guajira’). In short this recording is jam-packed with intricate arrangements and solos that are held together by Amadito’s sensitive, timbre-rich, tight timbale playing. A stand out track is ‘Amado Amadito’ by the legendary Paquito d’ Rivera. Emotionally charged it features the dexterous soprano sax of Germán Velazco, with melodies that are really haunting and a sax solo that causes Amadito to exclaim at the end of the track ‘Coño Paquito que lindo mi hermano – muchas gracias!’ Thanks also to Amadito for furnishing us with such an embarrassment of riches as all these tracks have hidden gems within them too numerous to mention here – defintely one for repeated listening.

You can click the links below to see a further selection of these:

Review of The Rough Guide to Cuban Music

Review of Amadito Valdes Bajando Gervasio

Review of Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall

Review of Madera Limpia La Corona

Review of Omara Potuondo Gracias

Review of an Eliades Ochoa Concert

Review of Putumayo presents Salsa

Review of Buena Vista Social Club live in Harrogate

Review of Putumayo Presents – Cafe Cubano

Review of La-33 Gozalo

Review of Marco Toro Oido al Tambor

My PhD at the University of Leeds

charangasue — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:25:47 +0000

Richard Egues and Sue Miller

I am currently undertaking a PhD part-time at the University of Leeds, UK, where I combine my practical work as a performer with more traditional research methods. In addition to a written thesis my work involves recording in the studio and live at concerts, where analysis, commentary and transcription of flute improvisations link in to this practical side. My research therefore covers various academic areas such as music analysis, improvisation, ethnomusicology and performance.

My thesis title is ‘Flute Improvisation in Cuban Charanga performance, with a specific focus on the work of Richard Egües and Orquesta Aragón.’

I am supervised at the University of Leeds School of Music by Dr Luke Windsor (Psychology of Music and Performance) Dr Luke Windsor

You can view the School of Music postgraduate students’ blog at this site: Music Postgraduates Blog

Gladys and Richard Egües with Sue Miller in April 2001