Duos

Phil Miller / Fred Baker

Phil Miller is one of England's most original jazz composers. His distinctive, intricate compositions are more usually heard using the voices of his 5 or 6 piece band IN CAHOOTS. The repertoire for the duo has been adapted and arranged to take advantage of the virtuoso playing of Fred Baker, one of Europe's leading exponents of the bass and an outstanding guitarist. A variety of guitars and styles are employed during the act and the music ranges from the simplicity of the acoustic guitar to the many possibilities that state-of-the-art sound processing and synthesis have made available to the modern-day guitarist. The duo was formed after 3 years of working together In Cahoots. Phil and Fred played as a duo in Japan during an In Cahoots tour in December 1 991 and in January 1993 played in St Petersburg and Moscow as part of a British Council sponsored tour of Russia. Their debut CD 'Double Up' was released in September 1992 by Crescent Discs.

Phil Miller / Pete Lemer

The Miller / Lemer duo project started in May 19--. Pete and I have played together for quite some time in my band In Cahoots, more-or-less from the beginning of the band. He has also played on 6 of my CDs. Although Pete had left In Cahoots earlier and was not a member of the band at the time, I invited Pete to re-join when In Cahoots toured Japan In 1991. As a guitarist and composer I have always enjoyed playing with and writing for musicians who can play whatever you put in front of them but also those who can turn your music when required into something different each time they play it. Pete Lemer is one such musician, so for me it was with pleasure and a sense of carrying on a fruitful partnership that this project was launched. The duo has been playing material recently composed by both musicians as well as drawing on material chosen from a large repetiore from our past collaborations. There are very few of our previous compositions, even including the most fiendishly difficult ones, that do not lie within the compass of this duo. The guitar/guitar synth and keyboards use the full range of modern music technology to create an exotic sound world for the highly crafted compositions and solos to exist in.