Before I tell my life story, and reveal my inner-most secrets in this
website bio, I will answer the one question that I have been asked most in
my life; "Is Solitaire your real name?"
Yes, it is. A few generations back, a same-named great -great-
grandmother left France for the USA. My Mother, an artist and a child of
the late 60's, decided to name her only child after this relative, to carry on
a family name. I can't lie, it was hell growing up with it, and he jokes and
lines I hear never end;
"Did your mother like to play cards?"
"Hey, let's play a little Solitaire..."
I have heard them all, and I'm setting the record straight now, so I don't
have to keep explaining it. But as a name for a jazz singer, I couldn't ask
for anything better. So I never changed it to Mary or Susan or any of the
other normal names that I used to fantasize about having. I was going to
put up an official, formal bio, but what I had come up with sounded so
stiff and pretentious. Since I'm not a Nobel laureate, I'm going to
provide a more casual read.
My earliest memories of music take me back to preschool years, when I
spent hours listening and sitting next to the footpedals of my
Grandmother's piano while she played and sang jazz standards for
family and friends. Back in the early 1940's Sybil Dermenoulian sang and
played with a swing band and toured NY and PA until she married and
started a family. By kindergarten I was already familiar with great songs
like "Tenderly" and "A Kiss to Build A Dream On". Her style of singing
was simple - a plain swing with a little vibrato at the end of each phrase,
and not unlike a young Billie Holiday. At age 6 when I heard my first Billie
and Lester song "Say it With a Kiss", I thought it was a recording of my
Grandmother.
I studied and played several instruments in highschool and I had the
honor of studying alto sax with the great New Zealand Sax player
Bruce Johnstone, who encouraged me to sing with his group during jam
sessions at the local jazz clubs in Western NY and PA where I grew up.
My sax playing never went anywhere, but I loved singing standards.
I later attended DePaul University in Chicago, IL, which is where I first
met the great jazz violinst Johnny Frigo. I had been studying classical
singing, but when a friend took me out to a club called Toulouse for
Johnny's Monday night Jam session with orchestra leader Joe Vito, I fell
madly in love with his playing, and wanted to sing nothing but jazz after
that. I started sitting in with Joe and Johnny for a time, and then we
recorded 2 CD's, right after I finished school. Johnny was always a kind,
supportive and easygoing teacher, and he and Joe handled all my
arrangements and early performances in Chicago. I couldn't have asked
for a better start in the world of jazz.
While recording with Johnny, I was also introduced to another great
Chicago jazz veteran, sax maestro Von Freeman, who also took me under
his loving wing, as he did many young players at that time. Von also
recorded with me, and is featured on my first CD with Johnny Frigo.
Vonski and I played in several clubs around Chicago at that time, and we
also worked with the great Chicago jazz pianist Willie Pickens, who I am
still working and recording with today.
After finishing college and playing in Chicago for a year, I moved to
Manhattan, and was introduced around by Johnny Frigo to great players
and producers, and was also lucky to land a job working at a jazz club
where I got to meet one of the founders of American Jazz, trumpeter Doc
Cheatham. While I worked as a receptionist in the club where Doc played
regularly, I was honored to have had the opportunity to sit in with him
regularly during his jam sets for a short while before he passed away at
age 91. Doc was a kind, genuine and loving soul, and his playing had a
big influence on me. Now I enjoy performing older material and
presenting it as authentically as I can. Most of the great musicians I
have worked with were jazz veterans, and played jazz during it's early
formation in the 1930's and on, and I feel that older players retain the
sound of their time, and I have learned alot from their phrasing and choice
of material. Having been raised on old tunes, I have been so lucky to
have been fostered by players who were playing jazz in it's day.
While living in NYC, I was diagnosed with the genetic auto-immune
disorder Lupus, so after taking some time off to be treated, I am working
again, and am so thrilled to have the chance to create new recordings
with great musicians in Chicago. I have tried to combine a little of every
influence I've experienced over the past several years of my jazz journey,
and honor the great players who have encouraged and inspired me to
keep playing and creating music.
Some of my favourite singers were introduced to me when I was a child
by my Grandmother, and they include Billie Holiday, Mildred Baily, Connie
Boswell, Annette Hanshaw, Peggy Lee, Valaida Snow, Ethel Waters, Ella
Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, Mel Torme, Helen Forrest, and the many
singers that worked with Duke Ellington on his early recordings, including
Lena Horne.
One of the nicest things any reviewer or critic has recently said about me
was pronounced by Chatauqua Symphony Bassist Harry Jacobson,
"Solitaire sounds like Billie Holiday with sunshine and air".
I have just started pod-casting, because I love to pick the brains of other
artists and musicians, and I think it's fascinating to hear their stories and
learn about the process of their art and music. I also feel that there isn't
enough press out there for jazz musicians and artists, so I am glad to
provide a vehicle for them to tell their stories and express themselves,
and share their life experiences.
Here are a few nice things that people have said over the years about my
music;
"Solitaire Miles captivates an audience with mesmeric tone, playful,
conversational phrasing, and a sinuous sense of swing. Miles has a voice
that grabs you, and demands to be listened to. Her natural, unaffected
delivery never draws attention to itself, allowing the craft of the song
writers to shine through." Tamara Dailey, Chicago
Sentinel
"Billie Holiday with sunshine and air"- Chautuaqua Sympony bassist
Harry Jacobson
"Her singing is enhanced by an uncanny stage presence. She could easily
fit into a group portrait with Peggy Lee, Maxine Sullivan, or Billie Holiday.
She shows great vocal diversity, strength and agility as she explores the
timeless textures of songs like 'Autumn Leaves', 'I Must Have That Man',
and 'Lush Life'"
Dave Rhoerbach Los Angeles Victory Gazette
"We can learn a lot from the way Miles informs each song with
impeccable intonation, flexible phrasing, and historical insight. She can
take an obscure Billie Holiday song and recreate it in her own style
without sacrificing the mood of it's time."
Marion Herschberger Brooklyn Free Press
"Her voice is best described as human and earthy, and she presents jazz
standards and forgotten favorites in a sassy style of jazz/swing hybrid
that has been compared to Mildred Bailey, Billy Holiday and Helen Humes."
Emily Santolla The Chautauquan Daily
website bio, I will answer the one question that I have been asked most in
my life; "Is Solitaire your real name?"
Yes, it is. A few generations back, a same-named great -great-
grandmother left France for the USA. My Mother, an artist and a child of
the late 60's, decided to name her only child after this relative, to carry on
a family name. I can't lie, it was hell growing up with it, and he jokes and
lines I hear never end;
"Did your mother like to play cards?"
"Hey, let's play a little Solitaire..."
I have heard them all, and I'm setting the record straight now, so I don't
have to keep explaining it. But as a name for a jazz singer, I couldn't ask
for anything better. So I never changed it to Mary or Susan or any of the
other normal names that I used to fantasize about having. I was going to
put up an official, formal bio, but what I had come up with sounded so
stiff and pretentious. Since I'm not a Nobel laureate, I'm going to
provide a more casual read.
My earliest memories of music take me back to preschool years, when I
spent hours listening and sitting next to the footpedals of my
Grandmother's piano while she played and sang jazz standards for
family and friends. Back in the early 1940's Sybil Dermenoulian sang and
played with a swing band and toured NY and PA until she married and
started a family. By kindergarten I was already familiar with great songs
like "Tenderly" and "A Kiss to Build A Dream On". Her style of singing
was simple - a plain swing with a little vibrato at the end of each phrase,
and not unlike a young Billie Holiday. At age 6 when I heard my first Billie
and Lester song "Say it With a Kiss", I thought it was a recording of my
Grandmother.
I studied and played several instruments in highschool and I had the
honor of studying alto sax with the great New Zealand Sax player
Bruce Johnstone, who encouraged me to sing with his group during jam
sessions at the local jazz clubs in Western NY and PA where I grew up.
My sax playing never went anywhere, but I loved singing standards.
I later attended DePaul University in Chicago, IL, which is where I first
met the great jazz violinst Johnny Frigo. I had been studying classical
singing, but when a friend took me out to a club called Toulouse for
Johnny's Monday night Jam session with orchestra leader Joe Vito, I fell
madly in love with his playing, and wanted to sing nothing but jazz after
that. I started sitting in with Joe and Johnny for a time, and then we
recorded 2 CD's, right after I finished school. Johnny was always a kind,
supportive and easygoing teacher, and he and Joe handled all my
arrangements and early performances in Chicago. I couldn't have asked
for a better start in the world of jazz.
While recording with Johnny, I was also introduced to another great
Chicago jazz veteran, sax maestro Von Freeman, who also took me under
his loving wing, as he did many young players at that time. Von also
recorded with me, and is featured on my first CD with Johnny Frigo.
Vonski and I played in several clubs around Chicago at that time, and we
also worked with the great Chicago jazz pianist Willie Pickens, who I am
still working and recording with today.
After finishing college and playing in Chicago for a year, I moved to
Manhattan, and was introduced around by Johnny Frigo to great players
and producers, and was also lucky to land a job working at a jazz club
where I got to meet one of the founders of American Jazz, trumpeter Doc
Cheatham. While I worked as a receptionist in the club where Doc played
regularly, I was honored to have had the opportunity to sit in with him
regularly during his jam sets for a short while before he passed away at
age 91. Doc was a kind, genuine and loving soul, and his playing had a
big influence on me. Now I enjoy performing older material and
presenting it as authentically as I can. Most of the great musicians I
have worked with were jazz veterans, and played jazz during it's early
formation in the 1930's and on, and I feel that older players retain the
sound of their time, and I have learned alot from their phrasing and choice
of material. Having been raised on old tunes, I have been so lucky to
have been fostered by players who were playing jazz in it's day.
While living in NYC, I was diagnosed with the genetic auto-immune
disorder Lupus, so after taking some time off to be treated, I am working
again, and am so thrilled to have the chance to create new recordings
with great musicians in Chicago. I have tried to combine a little of every
influence I've experienced over the past several years of my jazz journey,
and honor the great players who have encouraged and inspired me to
keep playing and creating music.
Some of my favourite singers were introduced to me when I was a child
by my Grandmother, and they include Billie Holiday, Mildred Baily, Connie
Boswell, Annette Hanshaw, Peggy Lee, Valaida Snow, Ethel Waters, Ella
Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, Mel Torme, Helen Forrest, and the many
singers that worked with Duke Ellington on his early recordings, including
Lena Horne.
One of the nicest things any reviewer or critic has recently said about me
was pronounced by Chatauqua Symphony Bassist Harry Jacobson,
"Solitaire sounds like Billie Holiday with sunshine and air".
I have just started pod-casting, because I love to pick the brains of other
artists and musicians, and I think it's fascinating to hear their stories and
learn about the process of their art and music. I also feel that there isn't
enough press out there for jazz musicians and artists, so I am glad to
provide a vehicle for them to tell their stories and express themselves,
and share their life experiences.
Here are a few nice things that people have said over the years about my
music;
"Solitaire Miles captivates an audience with mesmeric tone, playful,
conversational phrasing, and a sinuous sense of swing. Miles has a voice
that grabs you, and demands to be listened to. Her natural, unaffected
delivery never draws attention to itself, allowing the craft of the song
writers to shine through." Tamara Dailey, Chicago
Sentinel
"Billie Holiday with sunshine and air"- Chautuaqua Sympony bassist
Harry Jacobson
"Her singing is enhanced by an uncanny stage presence. She could easily
fit into a group portrait with Peggy Lee, Maxine Sullivan, or Billie Holiday.
She shows great vocal diversity, strength and agility as she explores the
timeless textures of songs like 'Autumn Leaves', 'I Must Have That Man',
and 'Lush Life'"
Dave Rhoerbach Los Angeles Victory Gazette
"We can learn a lot from the way Miles informs each song with
impeccable intonation, flexible phrasing, and historical insight. She can
take an obscure Billie Holiday song and recreate it in her own style
without sacrificing the mood of it's time."
Marion Herschberger Brooklyn Free Press
"Her voice is best described as human and earthy, and she presents jazz
standards and forgotten favorites in a sassy style of jazz/swing hybrid
that has been compared to Mildred Bailey, Billy Holiday and Helen Humes."
Emily Santolla The Chautauquan Daily
| With Von Freeman in Chicago |
| With Johnny Frigo in Chicago |
| Working hard with Don Rebic |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| with Willie Pickens |
| My Grandmother Sybil Dermenoulian |
“Solitaire Miles has a voice that makes you think she’s opened a hole in
the fabric of time and stepped right out of 1939” – J M Reid – “Kent
Observer”