Sammy Miller and the Congregation bring a contagious energy to their music, offering the expansive sing-along moments of an amphitheater laced with the intimacy of a New Orleans jazz club. While singer, bandleader, and Grammy-nominated drummer Sammy Miller hails from Los Angeles rather than the Big Easy, his approach to jazz, honed at the Juilliard School in New York, is natural, effortless, and undeniably joyful.
Upon completing his master’s degree, Miller formed the ensemble with friends — Alphonso Horne on trumpet, Ben Flocks on tenor sax, Sam Crittenden on trombone, David Linard on piano, and John Snow on bass. The band dove into the New York scene, playing late-night sessions at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and has performed all over the world, from the Hollywood Bowl to the White House. The ensemble is promoting its latest collection of rollicking tunes, The Mixtape, and will bring its theatrical blend of spirited jazz to SOhO on Friday, September 28. The Santa Barbara Independent caught up with Miller ahead of the group’s show.
Independently, you and your bandmates have performed and recorded with well-known artists like Wynton Marsalis, Lady Gaga, and Queen Latifah. How did you all come together to form the Congregation? I’m from Los Angeles originally. I grew up playing in a family band with my siblings. Music was always something that brought us joy. After high school, I moved to New York to learn jazz from the masters of the music. It was incredible, but I was missing the down-home, familial quality of music making. Often, I’d go hear music, and it felt distant and exclusive to most listeners. So, while in school at Juilliard, I sought out fellow musicians of the conservatory who, like me, were un-conservative in their approach. We wanted to create art that felt good and was inclusive for all. The Congregation was born.