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Brown Miller

PalmSprings.JazzNearYou.com Admin and Photographer/Content Production Artist for BurkeMedia Productions

About Me

I am the administrator of the PalmSprings.JazzNearYou.com calendar. In 2018 I discovered AllAboutJazz as I was getting involved in the local scene here in Palm Springs. I was blown away by the platform that Michael Ricci had crafted over decades and the global community that had organically coalesced to utilize it, support it, and shape its development.

I was so excited to have such a beautiful and powerful tool available to empower and connect our local audiences and talent with global audiences and global talent. But, there was a problem. The massive Greater LA calendar dwarfed our little Palm Springs listings to the point of invisibility. Something had to be done. To my astonishment, Michael Ricci immediately responded to my suggestion of creating a new Palm Springs calendar and strongly encouraged me to volunteer to be its admin. I did, and thus PalmSprings.JazzNearYou.com was born.

COVID interrupted the early stages of our development and it caused a lot of changes both online and offline. In the aftermath of the pandemic, our local scene is coming now back to life and I am working to reconnect us to the global community on JazzNearYou and AllAboutJazz. There are many new challenges to face as well as new opportunities. JNY has developed many new features for promoting and documenting online jazz experiences and is now working on expanded services for physical events as well.

Aside from the jazz scene. I am a content production artist working with BurkeMedia Productions in Desert Hot Springs, CA. I also advocate for creative professionals, promoting life-long arts education and the integration of the arts and creative fields within community development and public administration. Committed to developing unique and vibrant music and arts scenes in the California desert, I hope to build a connected, supportive community of creative professionals and cultural arts supporters.

Contact Brown Miller through the All About Jazz messaging system or visit https://www.facebook.com/JazzNearYou.PalmSprings

My Jazz Story

My Dad has always been a huge jazz fan, having been one of the younger and lesser known beat poets. So, I grew up hearing Miles Davis and other '50s through '70s jazz. Later on I got into the swing scene in the late '90s and developed a passion for pre-war and wartime jazz and lot of the fashion, art, and design esthetics of that era. After a couple of decades "finding myself" I ended up in Palm Springs where the good old straight ahead, American Songbook jazz is still a dominant popular genre. Palm Springs and jazz are a perfect pair. Where else can you flick on your FM radio and hear Sinatra or Dean Martin crooning a classic any time of the day or night! I am now the admin for PalmSprings.JazzNearYou.com and I'm working to develop our local jazz scene in the desert with the help of All About Jazz. This post pandemic period presents a lot of challenges... and opportunities. Our local calendar had really just started before the lockdowns. COVID ended my favorite jazz show: Jazz at the Twelve, with Paul MacKey, Andy Fraga, Larry Holloway, and Brian Nova. As a photographer for the show, I had the opportunity to photograph and meet some incredibly talented people. Laurence Hobgood, Tom Scott, Josh Nelson, to name a few. Twelve was a very special project in a casual, intimate venue with breathtaking views of the Coachella Valley. I had no idea how great it was until it suddenly ended. Without even the satisfaction of a final closing night or a farewell after party. Now, as we move forward into the unknown territory of Jazz in the 21st Century, I am excited to see what my old friends are doing next and to make new friends here in town and around the world. My Dad and I are really close and love turning each other on to rare recordings and new artists. Jazz is definitely a big part of my life and I hope the next generation of Jazz will take us to new heights. I'm excited about what technology can offer as far as connecting audiences and artists, capturing and documenting the sights, sounds, experiences, and stories with ever increasing quality and depth. Let's see where Jazz will take us next.