Remembering Dan Miller: Memorial concert, scholarship fund keep trumpeter's light shining
It’s not a funeral. It’s a celebration.
That’s how Judi Woods describes the upcoming memorial concert for her longtime “sweetheart,” the popular Southwest Florida jazz trumpeter Dan Miller.
Friends and well-known musicians from around the country are flying in for Miller’s “Celebration of Love and Life” on Sunday, Feb. 12. The Naples concert is open to everyone.
“Everybody loved Dan Miller,” Woods says. “He had a huge heart. ... Dan was a giant of a man.”
Miller died of a heart attack Aug. 19 after returning from a trip to New Orleans with Woods, his longtime girlfriend, she says. He was 54.
Now Woods and some of Miller’s friends want to make sure his memory lives on. The concert is part of that.
Then there’s the other part: A new scholarship fund they’ve started to help young jazz musicians get instruments, music lessons and more.
“One of the things that is really important to so many of us — and especially me — is to keep Dan’s light shining,” Woods says. “And to keep his legacy intact.”
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Miller was a familiar face who played jazz concerts all over Southwest Florida, either solo or with musical friends such as former “Saturday Night Live” saxophonist Lew Del Gatto. He performed everywhere from BIG ARTS to Davis Arts Center to Artis—Naples, where he founded and directed the Naples Philharmonic Youth Jazz Orchestra.
In fact, Miller was onstage the first time Woods met him about 17 years ago. She was in the audience and entranced by his music.
“He played a tune, and I closed my eyes and it touched my soul,” Woods says. “He was playing ‘Tenderly.’
"And that was it. ... A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to find true love, and we did. I’m grateful.”
Miller grew up in Chicago’s fertile music scene and later toured and recorded with music greats Wynton Marsalis, Tom Jones, Maynard Ferguson and especially Harry Connick Jr. — with whom he worked for 11 years and played on some of his biggest albums, including 1990's “We Are In Love” and 1991’s “Red Light, Blue Light.”
Miller was touring with Connick’s big band when “We Are In Love” turned the New Orleans jazzman into a superstar.
“‘We Are In Love’ came out and was going platinum,” Miller told The News-Press in 2018. “Things just blew up like crazy, and we went from playing one-nighters to doing 10 nights at The Chicago Theatre, selling 100,000 tickets over 10 nights.
“And the band was absolutely burning. It was great. We were doing like 330 days a year. We were working, you know? … It was a fantastic gig.”
More about the concert and the foundation
Miller made a lot of musical friends during his long career, and many of them will take part in his “Celebration of Love and Life," either in person or through video tributes. Connick is touring in Australia, for example, but he’s sending a video.
More than 35 musicians will perform at North Naples Church, including Del Gatto, former Connick Jr. trumpeter Leroy Jones, soul-jazz saxophonist Jerry Weldon, the Gulf Coast Big Band and some of Miller’s music students (see below for tributes and remembrances from several of Miller's friends).
The musical program features some of Miller’s favorite songs, including “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You),” “Tenderly,” "Blues By Five,” “Satin Doll,” “Cherokee” and “G Blues.”
After the concert, Woods says they plan to kickstart fundraising and promotional efforts for the new Dan Miller Jazz Foundation and its scholarship fund. The foundation has also applied for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, she says.
The scholarship is meant for middle school and high school jazz students who need financial help for music lessons, jazz camps, instruments and more.
It makes perfect sense, Woods says. Miller often mentored, taught and helped Southwest Florida students get instruments and attend jazz camps.
“He helped everybody,” says Woods, who is founder and president of the new foundation. “He reached out to so many young students and helped them. If they didn’t have the finances to pay for lessons, he donated his lessons.
“He talked to them about their families. He talked to them about their lives, about sports and about music."
So far, the foundation has raised about $5,000, Woods says. But they’re just getting started and haven’t done much promotion. Some major donations are expected to be coming in soon, she says.
Memories of Fort Myers jazzman Dan Miller
Dan Miller had many admirers. Here are some of the things people said about him after his death:
"He was a walking encyclopedia of jazz. You could play any record from any era and he could tell you the tune, what musicians were playing on it, even what arrangement they were using." — Pianist Jerry Stawski
“He taught me how to play with LOVE, PASSION, AND INTEGRITY. Though his physical being is no longer here, his musical spirit has been thriving and those of us who knew him will continue the hard work he started.” — Brandon Robertson, jazz bassist and director of jazz studies at FGCU
“Dan was the essence of our music: soulful, virtuosic and consistent. He was a great, great educator… More importantly, he was deeply engaged with humanity and how it could best be expressed in our interactions with each other, and through the trumpet. Big sound, big spirit.” — Grammy Award winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis
"He was a wonderful musician and performer, but the thing that impressed me most was the way he worked with kids." — Saxophonist and longtime bandmate Lew Del Gatto
“Dan was my biggest supporter. He always encouraged me and pushed me to be the best I could be. He made sure that I was ok, always. … I find myself talking about his mentorship often. I talk a lot about how he changed my life. And that’s just the person that he was. Such a bright light in this world that changed so many lives." — Nathaniel Williford, one of Miller’s many music students
“I’ve known Dan for over 25 years, and the only thing bigger than his sound was the size of his heart. … The effect of his influence on me and his students will be felt for years to come." — Bill Dowling, Yamaha Performing Artist and trumpeter for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
— Sources: The Naples Daily News and The News-Press interviews, Facebook and Miller’s website
If you go
What: Dan Miller "Celebration of Love and Life"
When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12
Where: North Naples Church, 6000 Goodlette-Frank Road N., Naples
Info: For more information, email lewdelgatto@earthlink.net, katedelgatto1@earthlink.net or judiwoods1@gmail.com
More about Miller: danmillerjazzfoundation.org
Donations
To make a tax-deductible donation to the scholarship fund, make checks out to “Dan Miller Jazz Scholarship” and mail to Stifel Investment Services, Attention Jennifer Basey, 12800 University Drive, Suite 300, Fort Myers, FL 33907.
To donate online, visit danmillerjazzfoundation.org.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1). You can also call at 239-335-0368.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Trumpeter Dan Miller: Foundation, memorial concert planned in Naples
