My heart broke today when I learned of the passing of trumpeter and composer Ron Miles, one of the great souls of American jazz and one of the sweetest personalities you might ever encounter.

I cannot remember when I first heard him, but I know it was ear opening.

What I do remember is the purity of his sound, and the deep well from which it came. Tender and firm, sweet and strong, and always looking for the light. Like his frequent collaborator guitarist Bill Frisell, he made everything sound better.

I highly recommend his album I Am a Man (reviewed here), and just about everything else he ever recorded.

The following track comes from the album Bardo Tank, which I stumbled on today for the first time and which seems eminently suitable today.

Thank you, Ron. Requiescet in pace.

© 2022 Mel Minter