This short passage captures this writer’s reaction to the stirring performance of Sammy Miller & the Congregation at last August’s Newport Jazz Festival – “Sunday began in rousing fashion as NYC’s “joyful jazz” ensemble, Sammy Miller & The Congregation—a barefoot clad sextet with three horns led by vocalist/drummer Miller—showed that jazz can be lots of fun. The soloists, including the city’s emerging saxophonist Ben Flock, trumpeter Alphonso Horne (both of whom are bandleaders) along with trombonist Sam Crittendon, played explosive solos and danced around the stage as pianist David Linard and bassist/tuba player Corbin Jones added their own musical and humorous touches.” Yes,, they received a standing ovation, and this was before noon, no less. Now, we have their debut recording, Leaving Egypt, upon which they are launching a massive tour that’s already underway.
The album was cut in four long days at the legendary United Studios where the many famed Count Basie sides were tracked. The band, with all above members present along with Sammy’s sister Molly on guitar worked with acclaimed drummer Jay Bellerose who supervised and produced the effort. You may have heard the single, “Date a Jew,” a narrative track that’s emblematic of their musical approach and provides an insight to their topical fare which can be amusing and subtly provocative too. Miller adds, “My long time partner and I come from very different background. Her, Karachi, Paskistan, me, suburban Los Angeles,” says Miller. “Different cultures, different religions, different in every way you could imagine yet we’re the same. We want happiness for our friends, family, and community. We care about our work, we care about our city, our country, and most of all we care about what we can change if we aren’t tribal. In this time of growing tribalism, it’s on each of us as individuals to be universal. To find empathy for those we’ve been taught to hate, to listen to those we find insufferable, it takes work, but you might find you had more love in your heart than you knew possible.”
Miller is a Grammy-nominated drummer for his work with pianist Joey Alexander. He convened The Congregation in 2014 at The Juilliard School in New York City where he was getting his master’s in jazz. “When I was at Juilliard, I realized jazz couldn’t just live in a conservatory vacuum. It needed to provide its initial function of being an expansive creative outlet where the rules are there for you to break and improvisation went beyond notes and into an experience,” Sammy says. The band wanted to break away from the insular feeling of the jazz scene. They played in dive bars and places where people found jazz scary. Their live show grew to become a mix between a post-Vaudeville comedy troupe and a rock band that played a vigorously reimagined kind of exuberant jazz. As the opening description may indicate, the band’s energy, catchy songs, and revue made them a word-of-mouth buzz band. A quick glance at their touring schedule reveals a mix of venues, some typically associated with jazz but most in the realm of roots and popular music.
Following the opening instrumental “Searching for Ragtime” the band breaks into “Shine,” one they released as the first single and a perfect embodiment of what’s described above complete with Sammy’s vocals, uplifting lyrics, playful piano, group harmonies, and tight ensemble work. While Miller was trying to fight off the winter chill when waiting for a bus in NYC, the chorus suddenly popped into his head- “Suddenly I felt tightness. I could hear the whole band in harmony – there was warmth, there was sunshine, everywhere I wanted to be. For a brief moment, I wasn’t cold.” A similar vibe pervades “It Gets Better” which begins with Miller singing, “When I stop hating myself.” Listen to the complex interplay and Jones’ riveting tuba on “Eagle Rock,” another representation of their singular gloriously blissful sound.
Sammy Miller & the Congregation are a jazz unit with the rock band mentality of jumping into a van and relentlessly touring to build a fan base. Leaving Egypt is a fine representation of their sound but cannot possibly deliver the energy, visuals and sheer enjoyment of their live act, where they connect with audiences like few bands, regardless of genre, can,
