Ep. 148 - Molly Miller

Guitarist and composer Molly Miller joins me on the show today. I first saw Molly playing a show at Nelson Drum Shop here in Nashville with her trio - Jay Bellerose on drums and Jen Condos on bass. It was a spectacular show. Molly has a really unique style that’s rhythmic and aggressive but also extremely melodic. Kinda jazz. Kinda not. The trio is a regular thing for her, and they create music that owes as much to Booker T and the MG’s as it does to a more traditional jazz approach. Molly also has taken a unique path to her career in music - it’s a combo of playing live, recoding her own albums, touring and recording as guitarist for Jason Mraz, and then teaching at University. In fact, she has a doctorate degree in music and she was the Chair of the Guitar Department at LA College of Music, and is currently a professor of Studio Guitar at USC in LA. So between all those things, she’s got a really interesting career on the go. To hear her at her finest, check out one of the Molly Miller trio albums, which feature amazingly creative guitar playing but also spectacular arrangements and ensemble playing. The latest album is called “St. George”, and there’s also a new one in the works. We had a great conversation about all of those things, as well as her instruments and gear, and how she approaches solo guitar playing. Enjoy!You can keep up with all of Molly’s projects and tour dates atmollymillermusic.comBe sure to listen to the Accompanying Songs Playlist which contains some of the artist’s work, plus many of the songs we discuss on the show:Playlist on Spotify / Playlist on Apple MusicIf you enjoyed this episode, please consider supporting the show with a donation or Patreon subscriptionThe show’s website can be found at www.makersandshakerspodcast.comYour fearless host, Steve Dawson can be found at www.stevedawson.ca Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.