Hi, MD readers, my name is Troy Miller, and I’m a drummer, music director, and composer who began playing drums in a family band and at church. As a teenager I reached the finals of the BBC Young Musician Of The Year competition. After graduating from the Guildhall School Of Music, I started playing with Jean Toussaint and soon after with Soweto Kinch. Having played opposite American vibes legend Roy Ayers several times, Roy asked me to go on tour with him and I’ve been playing with him for the last five years here in Europe and in the U.S. This led to a number of other collaborations including tours with Don Blackman, Jocelyn Brown, Amp Fiddler, and Michael Urbaniak, the latter of whom is associated with Miles Davis. More recently, I’ve been working with the multi-Grammy award-winning singer Amy Winehouse and have toured with Mark Ronson. Another recent collaboration included David Jordan and Daniel Merriweather.

My debut album, 40 Days, was released back in June 2006 by J’Noir Records and features veteran U.K. and U.S. talents Jean Toussaint, Jason Rebello, Eric Revis, and Marcus Printup as well as longstanding partners Soweto Kinch, Michael Olatuja, Femi Temowo, and Karim Merchant. It also features vocalists Eska Mtungwazi, Xantone Blacq, and Anna Omak. My latest project has been writing for the Prague Philharmonic strings, who also appear on the record, which was recorded in Brooklyn, New York. This stunning album fuses jazz, Gospel, and music from the streets and is now available on iTunes and Amazon.

I am now a professor at The Guildhall School Of Music and Drama and have been asked to give clinics at other institutions around the UK including Drum Tech and the Percussive Arts Society. I endorse Yamaha Drums, Sabian cymbals, Pro-Mark sticks, Evans drumheads, and Audix microphones. Advertisement

For more on Troy, go to www.troymiller.net.