Katrina Transplant Brice Miller Brings Jazz to Columbus
brice miller, columbus jazz & blues fest, culture, downtown, jazz, katrina, music, riverwalk,
Brice Miller, a jazz trumpeter and educator, has music running through his veins. In the past 17 years since he started his own brass band, Miller has created a music entertainment company, Brice Miller Productions, created the jazz studies program for New Orleans’ public schools, traveled the world playing jazz and started the Brice Miller Foundation, a program that promotes arts education.
But in 2005, his whole world was turned upside down when Hurricane Katrina hit and he was displaced to Columbus from New Orleans. He remained positive throughout that difficult time.
“I love accepting the challenges of life,” Miller says. “I take every negative and convert that into some type of positive.”
Once in Columbus, Miller wasted no time getting involved in the community the best way he knew how: with music. “Jazz and blues are some of the original art forms of America,” he says.
So Miller used the connections he has to many people in the jazz community and organized The Columbus Jazz & Blues Fest.
“It has allowed me to get to know the community, the positives of the community, where my background could be a benefit,” Miller says.
The festival premiered in 2007 with 13 artists, New Orleans-based food and more than 6,000 attendees. Not too bad for a freshman effort.
And 2008 promises to be bigger, expanding to two days. The musical lineup along the riverfront includes jazz, blues, reggae, Caribbean and even soul thrown in. New in 2008 is a gospel tent.
“This festival has the potential to grow into a major regional event,” Miller says. “It was something that attracted people because it is different. You haven’t seen something like this unless you are blessed to live in New Orleans or can travel there.”
Story by Hollie Deese
Photo by Courtesy of Chris Jenkins
