Lloyd Miller died early in the morning on December 27th, 2024. He was 86 years old. While the cause of his death was undisclosed, his wife Katherine Saint John said he had recently suffered a stroke; Miller had been in failing health for some time. Now-Again’s Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, who worked with Miller to manage and promote his catalog of inventive and esoteric jazz, wrote this short obituary.
I called him maestro as that’s what he was, of so many disciplines and challenges and dogmas. Those who might feel compelled to read further here will probably do so because of the wonderful clutch of records Lloyd cut and issued, both in Paris and in America, which culminated in his self-released masterpiece Oriental Jazz. Those who read further must also be asked to forgive the personal nature of these words, as Lloyd was a close friend and musical collaborator, and in the same way I couldn’t write about the passing of Galt MacDermot or David Axelrod outside of the personal, I couldn’t do so here.
My life working in music has topped more than a quarter century. Lloyd’s life in music spanned nearly 75 years. We first met when he drove from Salt Lake City to LA to hand deliver me his discography on vinyl, including an acetate he had cut of his solo piano experiments with Jef Gilson in Paris in the early 60s. He never told me why he took that long drive, nearly twenty years ago, but we hit it off immediately. And that evening’s hang led to one of the more challenging relationships I’ve developed with a musical elder. I’m much the better for it. MORE
