Soul Slaying British Vocalist Mica Millar Releases Her Latest "A Little Bit of Me"

 

Mica Millar- A Little Bit of Me - Golden Hour Music

I am not often smitten, but the British soul/jazz/R & B vocalist Mica (pronounced Meekah) Millar has grabbed me with her latest                  A Little Bit of Me. The album is self-produced on her label Golden Hour Music and will be released on June 5, 2026. Once you get your hands on this music, I predict you will find yourself repeatedly playing this one because you can't get this captivatingly compelling voice out of your head.

Born in Withington, a southern suburb of Manchester, England, this thirty-two-year-old chanteuse absorbed some of the best of soul, R & B, jazz, Motown, gospel and blues that was happening when she was as a young girl. She has taken all those influences-inspired by identifying with artists like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, Tracy Chapman and Prince- added her own Manchester grit, and out comes something that’s rooted in the tradition but is all Millar’s own. Her father was a drummer, and her mom was involved in the public relations side of music. She clearly had the music in her DNA from an early age. This woman stands all of five feet five inches tall, but has a voice that projects elements of soul, emotional R & B, gospel and bluesy grit with aplomb and power. She once reflected

“I wasn’t really a very good singer when I was a kid. That’s the truth of the matter. But I had passion. I had a very loud voice. I could project for a very small person.”  (*)

That humble self-assessment doesn’t do justice to Millar’s talent. Her emotionally charged voice and the visceral connection she establishes with listeners is what makes this vocalist different.

Mica Millar at the Jazz FM Awards where she won "Soul Act of the Year 2022" Award.

In her early twenties, Millar was on her way to becoming a premier soul and R & B singer in Great Britain. By 2017, she was playing mostly local gigs around her hometown Manchester surrounding area including a short stint with the group Red Sky Noise. Initially she sang her own compositions solo and released some on social media where she started to be noticed. She released the sparse, piano accompanied single “My Lover” and “Not the First” with some backup vocals in 2017.  The Portishead-like single,  “The Defender,” was well received in 2018.  Mica Millar was an artist that clearly was a force to be reckoned with.

Then in January of January 2020, her health and career were seriously challenged by a terrible accident. While working on developing trampoline skills, she tragically took a terrible fall and broke her back. It was a serious, terrifying injury that required her back to be surgically pinned permanently with metal fasteners.  As with many spinal injuries, there is always the possibility of partial or full paralysis that loomed over the young singer. Millar always sang with strength and conviction as her voice projected from her diaphragm. A serious back injury could have ended the vocalist’s career just when her talent was being more widely recognized. Although paralysis was thankfully not part of her path, any physical impairment would require months of rest and dedicated rehabilitation.  

“My fracture from the accident was dangerously close to my spinal cord-I’m incredibly lucky not to be paralyzed.”  “One of my vertebrae was entirely crushed and I had metalwork put in. Not that long after the op’, while it is incredible pain I can’t describe, you are up to walk after a week or so, and they don’t want you to be laying down for long as your muscles deteriorate…” (*)

Her voice would be another X factor until she had a chance to rebuild her strength. Her career was temporarily at a standstill. Millar was forced to regroup, rebuild, and recover.

After battling the restrictions of Covid and her own arduous rehabilitation, Millar got a chance to work on her recovery album, Heaven Knows. The album was released in June of 2022, a statement that represented what she was feeling at that time. Thankful, hopeful and I’m back!  It was a hit! Millar was able to record it at Abbey Road Studios in London with the legendary Goeff Pesche and she assembled a great group of backing musicians. The album featured a strong Millar who composed and sang fourteen songs that proved this woman was back and in fine form. “Preacher Man,” a single from the album which showcased her gospel inspired talents, kept her music in front of her ever-building fan base as the album gained greater exposure and accolades.

Fast forward as the world anxiously awaits the release of Millar’s latest   A Little Bit of Me which is scheduled to be released on June 5, 2026, on her Golden House Music label. I have had this record for about a week, and I can’t tell you how much I have spun this one over, and over, and over again. I am mostly a jazz reviewer and for me to be captured by this soul/jazz/Motown/gospel/blues inspired record both delights and surprises me.  Millar’s voice is hypnotizing. She projects with strength and conviction a little like Sarah Vaughan did with jazz, a little gritty like Etta James did with blues or like Aretha did with Soul and  R & B , the listener gets grabbed and trapped into the web Millar spins with genuine joy and steadfast faith. If you are looking for a success story to cheer for, Mica Millar's return to full strength certainly meets that criteria.

There is something here for almost anyone who just wants to lay back with their headphones and soak it all in. The opening album title cut “A Little Bit of Me” has a soulful groove that has Millar and her excellent back up singers, Amber Kuti-Smith and Ellie Hulme, makes for easy listening. Millar voice is strong and soulful. The backing duo fit her voice like a custom made glove. “Times Like These” have some elements of neo-country, with Millar finding some country in her voice and with a twangy slide guitar line, probably by Adam Smith, that warms your heart, cozy up to a fire and grab your Tony Lama boots.

One of my favorites is the slow burning “Under My Skin” which features Millar’s expressive, soulful voice, backed by some stellar backing voices like Kuti-Smith and Hulme, and some excellent section horn work by Kenyon Harold (trumpet/arrangement), Tiivon Pennicott (saxes), and Hamilton Hardin (assorted horns) that complete the feel. This one smolders like a glowing ember. Sizzling, look but don’t touch!

The album continues to the funky “Warning Sign,” the rousing “It’s You” and the strutting, barrelhouse “The Broadway” with its horn section work and its “maybe later we can get undressed” line, all satisfying offerings.

Have a listen to Millar’s “A Little More Time for Love” with featuring some of Danielle Weatherspoon’s B3 organ lines and some of Pennicott’s baritone sax accents. The production and musicianship on this album is fantastic.

If you love well harmonized voices in the Motown tradition you can’t miss “If You Stay.”  Millar’s voice is stage front and beautifully present as the two backup voices plus Simon Dale, weave the harmony to perfection. Guitarist Smith adds tasty lines, as Jay White’s bass and Marcus Finnie’s trap work hold the pace with precision.

·   There is plenty more to enjoy, from “My Joy,” to “See You On the Other Side” and “Hard Times” or like the gospel driven “Oh Freedom,” but you need to find your favorites and get the music to get into your blood and percolate.  The album finishes with the sauntering soulful “Hand on My Soul” and poignant torch song “When You’re Gone.” It’s great to hear that Mica Millar is growing better and stronger and she delivers in spades with her latest A Little Bit of Me.  Guaranteed to bring some joy to your listening experience.

(((*) The quotes were taken from Steve Best's article "From Horror to Heaven-Meet Stunning Soul Diva Ms. Mica Millar" in  Music Republic Magazine which you can read here.) 

Mark Wade and his Trio Start a New Third Stream with their latest release "New Stages"

 

Mark Wade Trio- New Stages- Dot Time Records

The bassist Mark Wade is becoming more widely recognized as an important voice on his instrument. Originally born in Michigan and raised in New Jersey, Wade began his musical education at the age of fourteen. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at New York University in 1997. There Wade studied with the world class bassist/educator Mike Richmond, whose own experience spanned working with the likes of Stan Getz and Lee Konitz to Jack DeJohnette and Ravi Shankar. 

Wade’s playing was always following a dual path with skills allowing him to easily traverse playing bass in a classical orchestra or in a jazz trio or a big band setting. His classical skills brought him to be a longtime member of the Key West Symphony, The Orchestra of the Bronx Opera and the S.E.M./Janacek Czech Republic Philharmonic. His jazz skills have been seen as a member of the Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra and as a bandmate whose has worked with notable instrumentalists Gary Bartz, Jimmy Heath, Conrad Herwig and vocalists Stacey Kent and Peter Eldridge to name just a few. Wade has been on the faculty of the Lehigh University’s jazz program since 2017.

Mark Wade photo by Bill Heuberger

My exposure to Wade’s music started when I reviewed his sophomore release Moving Day from 2018. The trio dealt skillfully with such standards as “Autumn Leaves” and “Maiden Voyage” along with his own twist on Dizzy Gillespie’s classic with “Another Night in Tunisa” as well as his classically influenced composition “The Bells,” which was inspired by a small fragment of Debussy’s “La Mer.”  That album offered a lot of promise. His 2022 release True Stories used compositions inspired by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Igor Stravinsky and received more attention from a wider audience for this musically talented bassist.

The latest album titled New Stages, was released in March on Dot Time records. This offering finds this creative bassist continuing his search; his quest to find a common ground between the structure of compelling classical music and the expansive freedom that the musical improvisation of jazz brings to music. The album has fifteen compositions by Wade and he is joined by his intuitive trio members, Tim Harrison on piano and Scott Neumann on drums. These guys have been playing together since 2013.

Wade acknowledges that his playing in classical orchestras has been the source of much of his compositional inspiration. The bassist starts off this album with his take on Debussy’s music, in this case the composer’s Children’s Corner Suite.  Opening with “The Good Doctor Gradus” the music erupts with speed, dynamism and propulsion.  Harrison’s piano takes on the almost frantic pianistic exercise, as Wade’s plucky bass keeps the music in pace and Neumann’s drum work accents the music with splashing cymbals and rolling toms. The music continues with “The Elephant’s Lullaby” a take on Debussy’s “Jimbo’s Lullaby.” The UK born Harrison, seems quite adept in his classical mode to piano here. Wade creates his own miniature lullaby. “The Shepherd Takes A Turn” opens with a booming, walking bass line by Wade, as the music introduces a feeling of  swing. Wade’s pizzicato resonates with fluidity and inventiveness. Harrison’s piano maintains the repeating melody in accompaniment. The original composition by Debussy ,“The Little Shepherd,” was said to represent a shepherd and his flute. Here Wade takes the more memorable repeating melody, opening it up with his own harmonic interpretations that make this one seem more cinematic than a children’s song. 

“Cakewalk” takes the strut-like, syncopated rhythm of the original and makes it jump and pulse with excitement. Wade’s fingers pluck the fretboard with a dervish intensity, as Neumann’s drum work adds dynamism. Harrison’s piano work seems to add a Monk-like change of timing in his improvisations that seem to make this one stand out.

The album continues with “Saga” taken from Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, the only concerto the composer wrote. Wade’s bass, Harrison’s piano and Neumann’s drum work matching notes synchronously.  Wade takes an extended pizzicato solo that is quite impressive, an extended improvised section that in the original piece was dedicated to the violin. The bassist modernizes this piece brilliantly with his trio to great effect.

“The Storm” is a take on Chopin’s turbulent D-minor prelude and the music creates the feel of being in a whirlwind, a tempest. Harrison plays with fearlessness and beauty. Wade’s double bass sings with a beautiful tone and hums with sonorousness. Neumann’s kit creates a tumultuous array of percussive effects.

“Idyll” comes from Maurice Drufle’s Requiem, which Wade and his trio plays this with devoted respect and solemness, while still maintaining a spaciousness that makes this music connect with the listener.

Wade creates a two-part suite that uses Joaquin’s flamenco guitar inspired Concierto de Aranjuez to create his “Iberia Part 1 and Part 2”.  This music has also inspired other jazz musicians in the past. Miles Davis and Gil Evans Sketches of Spain and Chick Corea’s Spain come to mind. Wade and his trio find their own interpretation of this Iberian inspired music, incorporating musical elements that come before them to make their own rendition ring true.

Wade’s “Lament” is a reimagination of Henryk Gorecki’s 1st movement of “Symphony Number 3.” The music was composed in 1976 and first played in 1977. It is a more modern source than the other music in this album. It has a lively repeating line driven by Harrison's piano and Wade's ostinato driven bass. The music offers a hopeful feel as Harrison’s piano creates austerity and hope. Neumann's cymbal and tom build up tension before Harrison's piano provides a easy, swinging release and then Wade is featured on a probing double bass solo that moves deftly against the music.  

The album includes with "Judgement "“Transition” and “At Rest” all inspired by Gabriel’s Faure’s Requiem. “Waltz and Variation” inspired by Chopin’s Waltz in A Flat and ends with “Jesu” which is inspired by Johan Bach’s chorale from Canata Jesu, Joy of Men’s Desiring .

No matter if you are a classical music follower or not, Mark Wade and his trio somehow reimagine this music and instill in it a new vitality. These talented musicians play the music with an inherent respect, and they make it more reachable by adding creative improvisational elements and rhythmic variation to the architecture of these classical gemstones. Wade’s approach on his New Stages  is  his own version of this eras new Third Stream.

Tigran Hamasyan: Manifeste- Introspective Music as a Path to Self-Discovery

 

Tigar Hamasyan: Manifeste: Naïve Records 

The Armenian born pianist Tigran Hamasyan has been a bit of an outlier.  He played rudimentary music on his family piano from the age of three and was in music school from the age of six. By the age of nine Hamasyan was immersed in jazz, but he was also highly influenced by the abrasive power guitar sounds of thrash metal! The man is a bit of an enigma; not a pure jazz pianist in the traditional sense, but a prolific improvisor. He is armed with the weapons of dexterity, skill, classical piano training, Armenian folk music influences, deftly using his voice instrumentally, and his own brand of fusion-inspired, prog-rock jazz, peppered with electronica. The pianist/composer is a percolating caldron of musical creativity that can inspire you with his pure talent and acumen and yet surprise you with his unpredictable excursions. If you listen to what this artist has already said in interviews, you get some insight into what is driving this man. Hamasyan once said “When I solo, I tend not to think of myself as a pianist.” He also has a seemingly unsatiable appetite for music from many disparate styles and origins. “I get into different types of music and really immerse myself in each one and then I move on…” These inclinations and the strong identification with his culture and its indigenous music remain driving forces that motivate his creativity.

At the age of 16, Hamasyan went to California to study and became entrenched in the LA jazz scene.  I was aware that Hamasyan won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz  Piano Competition back in 2006 at the age of nineteen, edging out Gerald Clayton and Aaron Parks! My first exposure to the pianist was from his well-received Verve album Shadow Theater from 2013. This album scratched the surface of the creativity that this composer and his musical mind held. The music was powerful, ethereal and different. The pianist utilized elements of jazz, prog rock, Armenian folk music, creative choral voice work and a deft use of strings and woodwinds. I was hooked by this man’s vision.

The latest album, released on Naïve Records on February of this year, is titled Manifeste and offers fourteen compositions that the artist uses as a vehicle for exploring into and discovering himself.

Hamasyan plays piano, synth, synth bass, drum programs, whistles, and provides vocals. He is joined by Nick Lierandi on guitar, Marc Karapetian on bass, and four different drummers- Mark Garskta, Arthur Hbnatek, Arman Mnatsakanyan and Nate Wood. There are also guest appearances by trumpeter Daniel Melkonyan on “Yerevan Sunrise” and “Years Passing (For Akram), Evan Marien plays bass on “Dardahan” , Agtghik Mamikonyan adds her voice on “Per Mane ( E Flat Venice Song)” and the Yerevan State Chamber Choir provide their angelic voices on  “One Body, One Blood” and “National Repentance Anthem.” The production of this project is obviously no small task. It speaks volumes about the details and thought that Hamasyan invests into the creation and execution of his multi-layered music.

Manifeste is a lot to process. Can this music be assigned to a particular genre? Not likely in my humble opinion. But if you marvel, as I do, at the process of a fertile, creative mind exploring the possibilities of musical expression, then you can clearly not ignore this man’s offerings.

There is much to be listened to like the restless prog rock-drive of the opening number “Prelude for All Seekers.”   The gorgeously swelling sounds of “Yerevan Sunrise” as Hamasyan layers multiple electronically generated aural colors and his synched-in whistling into his musical landscape. Daniel Melkonyan’s trumpet adds another element to this one as Hamasyan’s rhythmic vibe carries the pulse in tandem to Hnatek’s intuitive trap work.

The title cut “Manifeste” revels in Hamasyan’s powerful ostinato opening before the pianist is joined by Karapetian’s throbbing bass, Mnatsakayan’s syncopated drums and Tigar’s haunting overlayered vocals. The music has a foreboding feel to it. There is drama and it conjures up Black Sabbath and Emerson Lake and Palmer coming to my mind.

“One Body, One Blood” finds the pianist creating a hauntingly repeating theme upon which he incorporates the gorgeous, celestial voices of the Yerevan State Chamber Choir and the electronics and drum programming of Arthur Hnatek.

“Seven Sorrows” opens with clanging church bells over which Hamasyan plays some beautiful repeating piano flourishes. Artyom Manukyan’s cello adds some poignancy before the pianist adds his own fluid, chicanery of exploration including some Jarrett inspired moans. Mnatsakayan’s propulsive drum work is on display before Manukyan’s cello reenters and Hamasyan’s voice matches the cellists bowing in an moving and eerie coda.

“Years Passing” is a song dedicated to British/Bangladeshi choreographer Akram Khan. Hamasyan composed the music for Khan’s 2014 dance production iTMOi  (In the mind of Igor) a celebration of Stravinsky’s music. The two have a rhythmic connection that the pianist seems to have reflected on in this composition. The music features a beautiful repeating theme that Hamasyan plays on piano and that is supplemented by a searching trumpet solo by Melkonyan.

“Dadanhan” is a fusion-like song that features Hamasyan’s synth work and his tracking, almost primal vocals. Marien’s electric bass work and Hnatek’s explosive drum work complete this trio.  

“War Time Poem” has a heavy metal fierceness. Led by Hamasyan’s relentless and almost frantic synth work and Lierandi’s guitar, the band is rounded off with Karapetian on bass and Garstka on drums.

“The Fire Child” (Vahagn is Born) is a reference to the Armenian god Vahagn who by legend was born from a splitting reed in a fiery cosmic birth. The origin is as an Indo-European warrior god that is a dragon killer. Hamasyan’s music is like a chant. The pianist plays all the electronics and overdubs his vocals to the music unassisted. There is a ceremonial reverence to this Armenian mythical tradition that the artist expresses here touchingly.

“Ultradance” is a composition that transposes driving prog rock pulses in contrast to lyrical folk-inspired rifts. The music is driven by Nate Wood’s drums and Karapetian’s throbbing bass working in conjunction with Hamasyan’s repeating synth and piano lines.

 The remaining album includes “Per Mane (E Flat Venice Song) featuring the voice of Agtghik Mamikonyan and some agitated piano work by Hamasyan.  “A Window from One Heart to Another” a song inspired by the work of the poet Rumi, featuring the percussionist Hamin Honari and Blul (wooden flute) played by Yessai Karapetian. “A Eye” (The Digital Leviathan) is an ostinato-driven piece with Lierandi’s singing guitar, Hamasyan’s slashing synths, and Karapetian and Garstka supplying rhythm.

The final composition is “National Repentance Anthem” which opens with Hamasyan’s tinkling piano entre setting the stage for the Yerevan State Chamber Choir to enter tracing the music’s somber melody. Manifeste seems to culminate the theme of self-exploration, revelation and catharsis that Hamasyan is exploring by his creation and performance of this music.