MOLLY MILLER IS working overtime this summer. Yes, she’s reprising her role in pop star Jason Mraz’s Superband, on tour for his latest release, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, on which she also appears. But she’ll have to get there early as she’s also the opening act, performing with her Molly Miller Trio in support of their engaging new record, The Battle of Hotspur (Interrabang Records). Recorded with her bandmates, bassist Jennifer Condos and drummer Jay Bellerose, it’s a vibrant collection of original, instrumental Americana jazz songs tinged with folk, surf rock and Ennio Morricone–inspired western soundscapes.
On its face, this may seem an unlikely musical pairing: a jazz trio opening for a major pop star. But Miller — who is also an adjunct professor of studio guitar at her alma mater, University of Southern California, where she earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts — doesn’t see herself as simply a jazz guitarist.
“Hendrix is the guy that got me into guitar,” she tells Guitar Player, speaking from her home in Los Angeles. “Sure, I’m a jazz guitarist, but that feels like it’s not the whole truth. It’s just a part of what I do.”
MILLER BEGAN PLAYING GUITAR AT AGE SEVEN, JOINING HER SIBLINGS IN A FAMILY BAND.
She counts among her inspirations such disparate artists as the Beach Boys and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the gospel legend and rock guitar pioneer on whom she would later write her dissertation. Videos on Miller’s, as part of the Disney Peaceful Guitar series) to her trio playing a dynamite cover of J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight” and a host of other ingeniously arranged pop and jazz standards. (And if you’re looking for a lesson on CAGED theory, Miller’s YouTube tutorials can’t be beat.)
