Harold Simon Miller (25 April 194116 December 1983) was a South African jazz double bassist, who lived for most of his adulthood in England.

Biography

A native of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa, Miller began his career playing bass for the rock group

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

. After settling in London, he became part of a groups of musicians in the 1960s and 1970s who combined

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

with the music of South Africa. He recorded with

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in Soft Mach ...

Chris McGregor Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African jazz pianist, bandleader and composer born in Somerset West, South Africa. Early influences McGregor grew up in the then Transkei (now part of the Eastern Cape Prov ...

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, Clarinet family, clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for danc ...

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "...spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporar ...

, and

Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...

, and also led his own band, Isipingo, named after a vacation spot in South Africa. At the end of the 1970s, he moved to the Netherlands for economic reasons and worked with musicians in

Willem Breuker Willem Breuker (4 November 1944 – 23 July 2010) was a Dutch bandleader, composer, arranger, saxophonist, and clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindri ...

's circle. In 1971, he made a guest appearance on the album ''

Islands This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water, and by other classifications. For rank-order lists, see the #Other lists of islands, other lists of islands below. Lists of islands by count ...

'', by the progressive rock band

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

. He and his wife founded

Ogun Records Ogun Records is a jazz record label created in London in 1973 by South African expatriate bassist Harry Miller, his wife Hazel Miller, and sound engineer Keith Beal. They recorded British avant-garde jazz musicians Keith Tippett, Mike Osbo ...

. Miller died in a car crash in the Netherlands in 1983.

Discography

* ''

Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath ''Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath'' is the debut album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band of the same name. Produced by Joe Boyd, it was recorded in 1970, and was issued on LP by the short-lived Neon imprint of ...

'' (RCA/Neon, 1970

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

* ''Children at Play'' (Ogun, 1974) * ''

In the Townships ''In the Townships'' is an album by South African alto saxophonist, pianist, and composer Dudu Pukwana. It was recorded during 1973 at The Manor Studio in Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England, and was released in 1974 by Caroline Records. On t ...

'' (Caroline, 1974) with

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist and composer. Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He grew up studyin ...

and Spear * ''

Live at Willisau ''Live at Willisau'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on January 27, 1973, in Willisau, Switzerland, and was released on LP by Ogun Records in 1974. In 1994, the ...

'' with

Brotherhood of Breath The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes. History The Brotherhood of Breath in ...

(Ogun, 1974) * ''Ramifications'' with

Irène Schweizer Irène Schweizer (2 June 1941 – 16 July 2024) was a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. Life and career Schweizer was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland on 2 June 1941. She performed and recorded numerous solo piano performances as well as ...

(Ogun, 1975) * ''Family Affair'' (Ogun, 1977) * ''In Conference'' (Ogun, 1978) * ''Bracknell Breakdown'' with Radu Malfatti (Ogun, 1978) * ''

Procession (Live at Toulouse) ''Procession (Live at Toulouse)'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on May 10, 1977, at Halle aux Grains in Toulouse, France, and was released on LP by Ogun Record ...

'' with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Ogun, 1978) * ''

The Nearer the Bone, the Sweeter the Meat ''The Nearer the Bone, the Sweeter the Meat'' is an album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, double bassist Harry Miller, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on August 27, 1979, at FMP Studio in Berlin, and was released on vinyl later that yea ...

'' with Peter Brötzmann (FMP, 1979) * ''

Opened, But Hardly Touched ''Opened, But Hardly Touched'' is a live album by saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, double bassist Harry Miller, and drummer Louis Moholo. It was recorded on November 5 and 6, 1980, at the Flöz in Berlin, and was released on vinyl as a two-album set ...

'' with Peter Brötzmann (FMP, 1981) * ''Zwecknagel'' with Radu Malfatti (FMP, 1981) * ''Berlin 'Bones'' with Andreas Boje, Thomas Wiedermann, Manfred Kussatz (FMP, 1981) * ''

Alarm ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the Royal Air Force, RAF and is still used by ...

'' with

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (6 March 1941 – 22 June 2023) was a German jazz saxophonist and clarinetist regarded as a central and pioneering figure in European free jazz. Throughout his career, he released over fifty albums as a bandleader. Amongst his m ...

(FMP, 1983) * ''

Travelling Somewhere ''Travelling Somewhere'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on January 19, 1973, at Lila Eule, a jazz club in Bremen, Germany, and was released by Cuneiform Records ...

'' with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Cuneiform, 2001) * ''

Bremen to Bridgwater ''Bremen to Bridgwater'' is a double-CD live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded in 1971 and 1975 in Bremen, Germany, and Bridgwater, England, and was released on CD by Cuneif ...

'' with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (Cuneiform, 2004) * ''

Which Way Now ''Which Way Now'' is a live album by South African double bassist and composer Harry Miller and his band Isipingo. Featuring four original compositions, it was recorded on November 20, 1975, at the Post-Aula in Bremen, Germany, and was released in ...

'' (Cuneiform, 2006) * ''Brötzmann & Miller'' (Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2007) * ''

Eclipse at Dawn ''Eclipse at Dawn'' is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on November 4, 1971, at the Berliner Jazztage in Berlin, and was released on CD by Cuneiform Records in 2008 ...

'' with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath (Cuneiform, 2008) * '' Full Steam Ahead'' (Reel, 2009) * ''Ninesense Suite'' with Elton Dean (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011) * ''The Birmingham Jazz Concert'' with Mike Osborne, Tony Levin (Cadillac, 2012) * '' Different Times, Different Places'' (Ogun, 2013) * '' Different Times, Different Places Volume Two'' (Ogun, 2016)

References

External links

Ogun collection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Harry 1941 births 1983 deaths Jazz double-bassists South African jazz musicians Centipede (band) members 20th-century double-bassists Brotherhood of Breath members Ogun Records Artists