Reader Spotlight: Miles Burger
Meet Miles Burger, who might be the busiest gigging bassist in high school we’ve ever seen. He’s also a “doubler” – performing on both upright and bass guitar.
Miles is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story…
Bio:
I’m an 18 year old high school senior living in Philadelphia. As my friends and family like to joke, I’m a full time bassist and part time student. I am an international recording artist, studio session player, award-winning performer, and I have performed at many large venues and festivals around the country; all before my 18th birthday. I play all genres of music, but the genre(s) I’m most passionate about right now are jazz and jazz-fusion.
Location:
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Day gig:
I am currently a senior in high school, and I will continue my musical education next fall by being a jazz bass performance major in college. Despite being a high school student, I have been fortunate enough to live the life of a full time gigging musician as a teenager, and I gig A LOT, sometimes 4-5 nights a week.
Years experience:
10 years on upright, 9 years on bass guitar.
Bands & Gigs:
I’m currently playing in several projects, my main one being a blues/funk/soul fusion band called Time Gap. We gig heavily around the the Philadelphia area, and we recently played in Memphis, as part of the International Blues Challenge. I also gig around the area as part of a jazz trio, an alt-rock group and in various Christian/Praise groups. Besides from playing in bands, I am a “call guy,” meaning I often get calls to fill in orchestras and in the pit for musical theater productions around the area. I also do some light session work in studios.
Gear:
- Ken Smith White Tiger Elite 5-String
- Shen Upright Bass
- G&L 4 String P-Bass
- MarkBass 2X10 CMD Combo
- Ashdown 4X10 Cab
- Monster Cables
- Ken Smith Strings
Why I play the bass:
On a family trip to Seattle when I was 8 years old, we accidentally stumbled upon a jazz trio playing in a public park. I’m not sure what it was, but the upright bass transfixed me. After the band finished their show, I went up and talked to the bassist, who was kind enough to let me play his bass. I was immediately hooked. Everything about the instrument amazed me. After a year or so of exclusively playing upright bass, my parents surprised me with a Fretless Fender Jazz Bass on my birthday. Since that point, the concept of playing both the bass guitar and the upright bass has been extremely attractive to me, and I decided that I wanted to pursue both of these instruments.
My bass superpower/claim to fame:
I’d say that I have two traits that help me stand out; I have perfect pitch, so I’m able to really hear music well from a tonal perspective, and I’m able to just often times “sit in” with a band and figure out changes on my own. The other “claim to fame” I have is my chops. I take great pride in my technique and my ability to play difficult figures. Just recently, a keyboardist came up to me after a rehearsal and said something along the lines of “It’s bittersweet playing with you, because although I love hearing you play, you make me feel self-conscious because you can match my solo’s note for note.”
My influences:
Rocco Prestia, Paul Chambers, Jaco Pastorius, Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson, Edgar Meyer, Richard Bona, Christian McBride, Dave Holland.
More on the web:
Our album Flashback is available on Spotify, Apple Music and ITunes.
Feel free to reach out to me via email for inquiries, questions or just to say hi: [email protected]
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