JazzTimes is honored to premiere “Reasons (I Just Don’t Know Yet)” by Sammy Miller and the Congregation. The track, written by Miller, appears on the group’s debut album, Leaving Egypt, which was produced by drummer Jay Bellerose and will be self-released on February 7.
Led by drummer/vocalist Miller, the NYC-based Congregation has devised a distinctive stylistic mix of jazz, pop, and comedy over the past six years. The majority of the band—which includes trumpeter Alphonso Horne, trombonist Sam Crittenden, tenor saxophonist Ben Flocks, pianist David Linard, and bass/tuba player Corbin Jones—met as students at Juilliard; guitarist Molly Miller is one of the bandleader’s five siblings. Members of the group have also worked with a wide range of other artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz, and Beyoncé. Miller himself has previously played drums with Joey Alexander, for which he received a Grammy nomination in 2015.
Miller says about this track: “This is a love poem that is never to be finished. I’ve written so many verses on the magic of new love, but the only words that seem to do justice were this simple chorus, four lines long: ‘You don’t have to worry / you don’t need to fret / I will love you forever / for reasons I just don’t know yet.'”
Tonight (January 30), Sammy Miller and the Congregation performs a live set at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. In February, they will embark on a West Coast tour, followed by an appearance at the Dubai Jazz Festival and a tour of the southern and northeastern United States in March. For more information, visit the band’s website.
