A Tribute to Butch Miles

The Brubeck Family is saddened to by the loss of drummer Butch Miles (1944-2023), drummer with the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1979.

From Chris Brubeck:

I was sorry to hear that Butch Miles passed away on February 2nd. I knew Butch back when he was the acclaimed drummer with the Iris Bell Trio in Ann Arbor, MI during the early 70s when I was a student at UofM. Butch went on to be one of the biggest stars of the Count Basie Orchestra. He joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1979 and toured with us for about a year. Jerry Bergonzi played tenor in the Quartet at that time, and you can hear this band at its best on the Concord live recording, “Back Home”.

Butch was always a spectacular technical drummer and is best known for the big band style exemplified by his long association with Count Basie. I remember that the last concert we played together was in Hong Kong and on that particular night Butch broke free from the big band approach and played in a dazzling liberated way with the Quartet. He was especially amazing that night!

Butch left the band because he was asked to star in a Broadway show that featured musicians who could act as well. We shared many good times on the road, and he will be missed by legions of fans and friends.