Trumpeter/Cornetist Ron Miles Dies At 58

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Trumpeter, cornetist, composer, and educator Ron Miles died at his home in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, March 8, due to complications from polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder, at the age 58. He can be heard on several Nonesuch recordings, performing with Joshua Redman on the 2018 Grammy-nominated album Still Dreaming and with Bill Frisell on History, Mystery (2008), Blues Dream (2001), and Quartet (1996).

Ron Miles was born on May 9, 1963, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and moved with his family to Denver when he was 11 years old. Soon after he began playing trumpet and studied both classical and jazz. He went on to study music at the University of Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, and the Manhattan School of Music. In 1987, Miles released Distance for Safety, the first of a dozen albums he would make over the next 35 years.

As a Professor of Music at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Ron Miles also led a distinguished and lengthy career in music education where he had taught since the late 1990s.