Texas State to honor former faculty member, legendary jazz drummer Butch Miles
The Texas State Jazz Department will pay homage to former faculty member and legendary jazz drummer Butch Miles by renaming the Hill Country Jazz Festival in his honor.
“Butch was perhaps most famously a drummer for the Count Basie Orchestra but also played with Dave Brubeck and Mel Torme, among many others,” Dr. Utah Hamrick, Director of Jazz Studies at Texas State, said. “He retired from the road in 2007 and became our drum set instructor until his retirement in 2021. Our jazz festival has been going on for 36 years, but is changing this year to honor Butch.”
The newly-named Butch Miles Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. in Evans Auditorium. The event is free and will feature Gregg Field, Lynn Seaton and Robert Boone, Jr. with special appearances by Doug Lawrence and Adam Schroeder.
“We have a great lineup of former Basie musicians that will join our top student jazz band,” Hamrick said.
Born Charles J. Thornton, Jr. on July 4, 1944, he was professionally known as Butch Miles. Miles served as a faculty member in jazz studies at Texas State University.
“Butch was an important part of the Texas State jazz faculty, not only as a world-class drummer but as a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher,” Hamrick said. “His decades of working with jazz greats including Count Basie, Mel Torme, Dave Brubeck and many others brought a level of experience that was unequalled. Texas State benefited greatly from his playing, his teaching and his music industry connections, which helped bring many major artists to campus. He was a great musician and a beautiful human.”
