Lessons & Fairytales Simon Millerd

• 1 Looking Back 06:09
• 2 ACIM Lesson 39 (My Holiness Is My Salvation) 04:17
• 3 ACIM Lesson 70 (My Salvation Comes from Me) 04:23
• 4 The Unwinding Road 05:46
• 5 Wherever You Are 05:14
• 6 Quiet Now 04:51
• 7 Montreal March 02:38
• 8 Gnome Home 03:23
• 9 The Tale of Jonas and the Dragon 07:15
• Total Runtime 43:56

Info for Lessons & Fairytales

Young Montreal trumpeter-composer Simon Millerd has been performing with Germany's acclaimed Pablo Held Trio and this is the first documentation of their evocative music-making. Also featured on some tracks are the mostly wordless vocals of Montreal folk-jazz singer Emma Frank (her new album features Jim Black and Aaron Parks), as well as some of Millerd's bandmates from Nomad. Millerd's trumpet style is smoky and delicate, somewhat reminiscent of Arve Henriksen. His compositions foreground a sensuous beauty while offering plenty of opportunities for engaged improvisation. The record is also a kind of spiritual autobiography. Millerd cites Coltrane and Wayne Shorter as his biggest influences: Trane inspires the lessons part (spiritual evolution/learning) and Wayne the fairytales (adventure/imagination). Millerd met Pablo Held and his trio when they were all touring in the European Jazz Orchestra in 2011, and a performance with Held's trio greatly inspired the direction of Millerd's own music going forward, but it was not until 2016 that they had the opportunity to play together again. The results are full of feeling and an authenticity that comes straight from the heart.

Simon Millerd, trumpet, synthesizer (track 3)
Pablo Held, piano, synthesizer (1, 5)
Robert Landfermann, bass
Jonas Burgwinkel, drums
Special guests:
Jacob Wiens, guitar (on tracks 1-3, 5-7)
Mike Bjella, tenor saxophone (on tracks 2-4, 8)
Emma Frank, voice (on tracks 1, 5-7)
Ted Crosby, bass clarinet (on tracks 2, 3)

Recorded Oct 18 and 19, 2016 at Pierre Marchand Studios in Montreal

Originally from Saltspring Island, BC, Simon Millerd (born 1987) grew up in a family of musicians, encouraging him to begin playing piano at age 6 and trumpet at 11. He moved to Montreal, QC in 2008 and since then has been part of several compelling groups, such as Nomad, the Emma Frank Quintet, the Isis Giraldo Poetry Project, Chronicle Infinitas, Kalmunity, the Pablo Held Septett and Quartet, and the European Jazz Orchestra. He has performed in Canada, the USA, Colombia, Iceland, Germany, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Denmark and appeared on over 15 recordings as a sideman. Simon has been recognized with such awards as the Astral Artist Prize, CBC Galaxy Rising Star Award, The Yamaha Kando Award, and the National Foundation for the Arts Silver Award (USA). Simon attended the Schulich School of Music at McGill University on a full scholarship, and has studied privately with Chris McCann, Brad Turner, Dawn Hage, and Jocelyn Couture. He is currently twenty nine years old and living in Montreal.

Booklet for Lessons & Fairytales