Lloyd Miller - Oriental Jazz

Location: Salt Lake City
Year: 1968
Label: East-West Records
Catalog Number: EW 3

Style: Jazz, Traditional, World

In my opinion, Oriental Jazz is the most interesting and widest reaching record to be created and released from Utah. Even though an original may fetch several hundred bucks, it is not the most expensive record from the region, but I do believe it is the best. Lloyd presents a sonic dissertation of music of the Near and Far-East regions of the world, while arranging and composing parts to illustrate the commonalities with the western Modern Jazz tradition, and does so without feeling overly academic. Oriental Jazz also avoids a sense of parody and irony, which was often found in previous genre attempts like “Exotica”. This record upholds a modern and sophisticated aesthetic to this day, and although the recording contains a heavy lo-fi and even DIY sound quality, I believe it adds to it’s charm.

When I was to initially meet Dr. Miller, he insisted he take me to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants so we could discuss potential collaborations. I knew the world traveling, Persian Studies PHD, vegan Sufi, would take me somewhere very exotic and authentic… 

I was the first to arrive at the Olive Garden in Sugar House, slightly nervous yet excited to meet the man who’s records I had been obsessing over. Soon after, an energetic and fast moving jazz man in sun glasses walks in and right up to me and says ,“You must be the big promoter that’s gonna make us a bunch of money.” I shake his hand and before I’m done introducing myself he has pulled out a stack of CD’s for sale from his suit jacket pocket. “ Hey maybe you could buy a CD since I’m taking you out to dinner.” 

I quickly learned that Lloyd is on a whole other oscillating wave length. Most certainly a savant, and all at the same time a childish prankster, a wise Sufi, cultural scholar, music intellectual, spiritual Mormon, ladies man, and a self deprecating comedian. Much like his records, or maybe his records are much like him; always dynamic, authentic, moody, and adventurous. 

-Adam Michael Terry