BIOS
Roy "Chip" Miller – Guitar
Chip Miller has been the bandleader for several jazz projects throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan area since 2004. He studied under noted jazz guitar legend Steve Yankee at the Peabody Preparatory School Adult Music Focus Program in the early 2000’s and later Brian Kooken of the famed Greg Hatza Organization. In 2004, Roy started a straight-ahead group called the Jazz Encounter with bassist Bill Pedro and notable musicians J.T. Abercrombie, Larry Harper, and Randy Nelson Jr. This group enjoyed performing at local nursing home facilities and festivals throughout the mid 2000’s. He is also the brainchild of the Chip Miller Fusion, The Chip Miller Group, and the Jazz House Trio and has performed at such venues as Artscape, An die Musik and Terra Café to name a few. Chip is a child of the sixties and seventies, so jazz, funk, motown, and later jazz fusion was a part of his daily listening diet. His playing style reflects a strong influence of fretboard heavyweights George Benson, Larry Carlton and many others.
Ron Walker – Keyboard, vocals, and pocket trumpet
Ron is a multi-instrumentalist and native of Baltimore. Educated in the Baltimore City Public School System, he graduated in 1982 from Morgan State University with a degree in Music Education. Ron went on to teach in Baltimore’s Public School System where he retired as a music educator. Over the years, he has performed with many of the city’s top musical acts such as First Class, the Softones, Cisum, Kemet, the Stan Rouse Quartet, BTown, Impromptu and The Derek Amin Quartet. Ron's philosophy is, "Music is Love and Love is God."
Nate Stevens – Drums
Nate is a veteran groove master, and well versed in the rhythmic styles of jazz, funk, R&B, gospel and soul genres. He is a native of Baltimore and began playing drums in high school at Walbrook High School, where he performed with the jazz and classical bands. After high school, he continued to perform with a local R&B group called Magnum Force as well as other local talent. Nate is a retired U.S. Postal Office worker, where he also played for the Glee Club. His musical influences are local legend Dennis Chambers, Nirada Michael Walden, and famed George Duke drummer and producer Gordon Campbell. Nate also performs regularly in his church and with other local groups in the area.
Dan Zywan – Bass
Dan's love for music began in elementary school, when he learned to play the trombone and frequently tuned into radio stations that featured jazz and Motown. He later learned to play bass while working at a music store in the late 1970s and bought his own bass a few years later. Dan continued playing music in the U.S. Army band program and later as a student at Towson University, where he graduated with degrees in Applied Music and Music Education. His musical influences are eclectic, ranging from RTF, Weather Report, Eleventh House, Mahavishnu, Billy Cobham and many more. He is inspired by bass legends James Jamerson, Jaco, Stanley Clarke, Richard Bona, Tom Kennedy, and Stefan Rademacher. Dan excels at laying down the groove, being the foundation for the sonic house, and creating a pocket that is deep and wide, where everyone feels comfortable to let their solo fly.