Ernest Miller, also known as Punch Miller or Kid Punch Miller (June 10, 1894 – December 2, 1971), was an American traditional jazz trumpeter. Miller was born in Raceland, Louisiana, United States. He was known in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, where he was based from 1919 to 1927, when he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In Chicago he worked with various bands, including those of

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

and Tiny Parham, and appeared on a number of recordings. He is also confirmed to be the cornettist on the

Gennett Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

recordings of the obscure ensemble King Mutt and his Tennessee Thumpers. His lifestyle and the decline of

Dixieland Jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

led to his falling out of the limelight. This changed with the rising importance of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and he returned to national attention. He returned to New Orleans, playing at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

and leading a band under his own name, in addition to playing with other groups. In 1963, he toured

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with the clarinetist George Lewis. Miller was the subject of the television documentary ''Til the Butcher Cuts Him Down''.

References

External links

New York Times on the film
* 1894 births 1971 deaths Dixieland jazz musicians Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Savoy Records artists 20th-century American trumpeters People from Raceland, Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Preservation Hall Jazz Band members {{US-jazz-trumpeter-stub