Timothy Miller Lee - Something More [CD]

Timothy Lee Miller presents SOMETHING MORE, eight original jazz compositions that explore the unique relationships that the composer has with his family. Expanding upon something as simple as a photograph or a memory, Miller's noir-influenced jazz expands his reflections beyond words, and instead creates story through moods. The album features both contemporary compositions, as late as 2017, as well as some that Miller had written back in the 1980s. Each track was inspired by snapshots in Miller's life, a soundtrack to a particular date in time with one of Miller's family members. The bustling, sweeping opener "Sebastian's Day Off" took it's tempo from a day Miller spent in the park with his son. The composition makes quick jumps from energetic bebop to smooth lounge to bouncy jazz, providing readers with the breakneck direction changes that come with entertaining a small child. Meanwhile, the more solemn "Inky and Marie" carries a ghostly feel in it's opening chords, alluding to the sorrow Miller felt when his Aunt Marie's dog Inky passed away one night during a visit. Like a photo album set to sound, Miller's compositions let's the listener into some of his most cherished memories. SOMETHING MORE shares the thought that behind every memory, there is a story, and behind every story, there is music.