Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Esther Miller was born on April 12, 1968 and raised in the east coastal motor city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is here that she sang in church and school choirs and raided the family Nat King Cole albums for early inspiration.

Leaving Port Elizabeth to study medicine at Cape Town University, she soon gave in to the lure of jazz. Esther started her professional career as the vocalist with Gerry Spencer’s Jazz Cyclone, one of the leading bands on the South African jazz circuit at the time.

During this early apprenticeship Miller worked with some excellent players on both sides of the pond, Herb Ellis, Alan Skidmore,  Johnny Fourie, Errol and Alvin Dyers, Winston Mankunku and Ezra Ngkukana, to name but a few.

Esther has honed her technique with classical singing lessons and delved into jazz history, gleaning inspiration from Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Shirley Horn, Blossom Dearie, Frank Sinatra, and of course, Nat King Cole.

She performed in South African jazz festivals, concert halls  and jazz clubs before settling in the United Kingdom for 10 years. There she performed and recorded with some excellent musicians including Steve Melling, Steve Waterman, Zoltan Dekany, Karen Sharp, among others.

Possessing an outstanding technique and sensitive interpretation, with a half dozen albums under her belt, vocalist Esther Miller has moved to Denmark where she continues to add to her repertoire as she explores the Scandinavian jazz scene.

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