Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners are a musical group consisting of Jacob Miler (vocals, guitar), Nate Lown (trombone), Leon Cotter (saxophone, clarinet), James Ramey (plectrum banjo/tenor banjo), Ben Hampton (percussion), and Cary Miga (upright bass). Their musical stylings incorporate a contemporary mix of early swing, ragtime, dixieland, and country-blues music. Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners have released 3 studio albums. Their most recent EP, "A Love Like This", was self-released in June 2014.

Their name, The Bridge City Crooners, is a tribute to the city which they originated and currently reside; Portland, OR.

Biography

Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners
Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners
Background information
Origin	Portland, OR
Genres	Ragtime, country-blues, string blues, skiffle, swing, hot jazz
Years active	2012-present
Website	www.jacobmillermusic.net

Jacob Miller was born in Eden, Wisconsin in 1990, the son of Ted Miller. In 2011, Miller recorded a solo album of original country blues and Appalachian compositions titled Blue Ridge Ramble. The album was mostly written in Hot Springs, North Carolina during the late spring of '11 while Miller worked as a farm hand. Upon returning to Wisconsin in the summer of 2011, he self-recorded, produced, hand-pressed, and released Blue Ridge Ramble among local shops while traveling west to Portland, OR. Having resided there the previous year, Miller returned to Portland, OR and began performing local pubs, coffee houses, and busking on the street. In 2012 he formed the band the "Bridge City Crooners".

"East Side Drag," an 8 song EP, was recorded in a local Portland attic in a single afternoon, May of 2012. The EP was released digitally June 6th, 2012. The collection of songs featured Miller (vocals, guitar), Joy Pearson (vocals), Ben Bailey (washboard), and Kyle Neumann (harmonica), most of whom met the day of the attic recording session.

A self-titled album was released in July 2013 which included all original country blues compositions, excluding Home (When Shadows Fall). The lineup on this release included Miller (vocals, tenor banjo, guitar, kazoo), Bailey (washboard, percussion, vocals), Team (upright bass), and Neumann (harmonica).

With the addition of Lown (trombone) and Ramey (tenor banjo/plectrum banjo) in 2013, the Bridge City Crooner's sound transitioned into a more specific brand of dixieland, western swing, and ragtime. Taking the heavy country blues and jug band elements, Jacob Miller and co. incorporated these styles with a New Orleans swing approach, and have applied it while writing and performing both original compositions and traditional material. The new outfit recorded "A Love Like This," in May 2014 at Interlace Audio , later released on June 14th, 2014. The album received local, national, and international attention upon it's release with the assistance of festival performances and the widely received music video for "Sugar Sweet". Shortly after the "A Love Like This" release, the group performed at notable events such as Doe Bay Festival, Ted Talks, Waterfront Blues Festival, Sun Valley Jazz Fest and more. The final addition of Leon Cotter (clarinet, saxophone) was made in the Fall of 2014.

Discography

Albums

Blue Ridge Ramble - Independent Release (2011)
East Side Drag - Independent Release (6 June 2012)
Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners - Independent Release (19 July 2013)
A Love Like This - Independent Release (25 June 2014)

Repertoire

Their material, which mainly includes works Miller and various members have composed, derives from and is inspired by the lesser known pieces of the early jazz and blues era. Their repertoire includes material from artists such as Victoria Spivey, Papa Charlie Jackson, the Georgia Washboard Stompers, Jimmie Rodgers, Don Redman, Spencer Williams, Cole Porter, and Frank Stokes among many more.

External Links

Category:Music Category:Ragtime Category:Portland, Oregon Category:Country music Category:Jazz Category:Jazz musicians Category:Skiffle Category:Swing music