Press Blurb

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David Vincent Mills is a composer, improviser, and performer whose roots are in jazz and classical music as he studied both piano and trumpet from a young age. In his early teens, David began studying with renowned pianist and composer Clare Fischer. Later in life he has broadened his palette to include all Western musical styles and various musical genres of the world. Today he is interested in free-form improvising as well as using original compositions as a launching pad for improvisation, tapping into an assortment of musical styles and discovering the common ground within the juxtaposition of those styles. 

Mills has performed throughout the world, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Playboy Jazz Festival and has opened up for Chick Corea and Lionel Hampton. He has also toured with American Idol's Kimberley Locke and has shared the stage with Eric Marienthal and Bobby Shew. In a review of his CD "Have We Met?" with Daren Burn's and his band 3 Squares, Jerome Wilson of Cadence magazine wrote, "David Vincent Mills' piano has some of Carla Bley's simple and elemental style."

David also works as a composer creating jingles for radio, soundtracks for videos, audio books, television and original songs for his independently released CDs. In addition, Mills has been a studio musician as well as a producer for numerous recording artists in the genres of jazz, rock, and folk.

“Underneath”

Funky Jazz Album

DiVoM is an eclectic and progressive jazzy funk (i.e. 'Junk') instrumental power trio that covers the spectrum from moody and introspective soundscapes to high energy rocking and funky grooves. The group playfully melds jazz, funk, rock, pop, blues, r&b, gospel, roots, reggae and even klezmer to create a style all their own. The band performs all original tunes by founder David Vincent Mills featuring Mills' funky, feel-good, and at times virtuosic piano and keyboard skills. In addition to the traditional instrumentation of keyboards, bass and drums, the band remains up-beat and whimsical with their spontaneous use of unexpected instruments such as melodica, harmonica, toy piano, glockenspiel and toys (horns, bells and whistles!!!). Mills' tunes are layered with a jazz structure but maintain a pop accessibility that are painted with a wide palette of foot tapping rollicking rhythms, mesmerizing melodies and hypnotic harmonies from around the world to create a groove orientated adventure that takes one on a rousing ride! DiVoM appeals to fans of jazz, funk, and/or jam bands who listen to Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW), The Bad Plus, Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.), Cinematic Orchestra and Phish.

3 Squares - Have We Met?

CD Review

January 30, 2010

Jerome Wilson - Cadence

Going by their name, you’d expect 3 Squares to be another of those “quirky” Rock-based Bad Plus-type piano trios, but that’s not quite the case. There is a little progressive Rock bashing on (Have We Met?) but mostly there is a more deliberate group feel that resembles some of Carla Bley’s groups. David Vincent Mills’ piano has some of Bley’s simple and elemental style and Daren Burns is one of the few younger electric bass players I’ve heard who owes more to Steve Swallow than Stanley Clarke or Jaco Pastorius. That relentless Bley feel carries through the title track, “What Do You Know,” “Seven & Seven,” and the lazy Blues “I Wish It Was.” There is also the aforementioned prog bashing on “Ear Caving Dread” and some Middle Eastern exotica on “Ashram” and “Marwa” but mostly this music is a series of distinctive musical conversations drawn out of very basic materials, a sound that gives this band its own identity.

© Cadence magazine 2010 www.cadencebuilding.com 315-287-2852

More About David Vincent Mills

Music

In addition to performing extensively in Southern California and the greater South West, Mills has performed throughout the world, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Playboy Jazz Festival and has opened up for Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton, and Eek-A-Mouse. He was the keyboardist for American Idol’s Kimberley Locke with whom he performed in stadiums, concerts halls, clubs throughout the U.S.A. and on national television, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He has also shared the stage with Eric Marienthal and Bobby Shew. In a review of his CD "Have We Met?" with his band 3 Squares, Jerome Wilson of Cadence magazine wrote, "David Vincent Mills' piano has some of Carla Bley's simple and elemental style."

Mills also works as a composer creating jingles for radio, soundtracks for videos, audio books, websites, television and original songs for his projects and independently released CDs. In addition, Mills has been a studio musician as well as a producer for numerous recording artists in the genres of jazz, rock, and folk.

Teaching

Mills' began teaching piano in college to other fellow students and from 1996 through 2006, he has instructed piano full-time to students ages 4 to 84 from beginners to advanced in all genres of music. He continues now to teach part-time to selected students.

In 2006 Mills and his wife, Jen Valencia, relocated to Sedona Arizona for a change of pace and to be inspired by Sedona's natural beauty so that they could focus on their creative pursuits, specifically to Mills, his own compositions and his own 'sound'. Since then, he has developed what he calls "something of a musical prayer" with his improvised solo piano playing and shared it on May 15, 2008 in his first recorded solo piano concert launching the "Conversations in Music" series. In addition, Mills has started all of his other bands and projects, many of which, such as the jazzy funk Projects 'Junk' and 'Sticks & Bones' were a new direction for Mills. Recordings for these projects are slated for 2011-2012. Also, Mills has been a member, sideman, musical director, arranger, studio musician, and producer for many other Arizona bands. In the process, Mills has been rewarded by playing with many local and famous talents.

Written Word

Mills' talent for writing music spills over into the literary world. He also writes contemporary poetry and short stories and has been published in 'Tales of the Talisman' a quarterly science fiction magazine. He has co-authored a children's book with his wife Jen Valencia which is now in the illustration phase.

Mills also has a knack for humor, coming from both of his parents, in particular his mother. Pairing that humor with the business and economic sensibilities his mother instilled in Mills, he has started a design business with his wife Jen, creating fun and witty designs for t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and other various gift items. See their work at www.ywearclothing.com

Photography/Art

As a child, David Vincent Mills watched his full-time artist father John Mills create photo-realism paintings. Now David relaxes by painting abstract/surreal art and plein air paintings of Sedona to express his visual creativity. On his father's photo shoots for his painting subjects, David as a youth was his father's 'color man', by shooting the subjects with 35 mm color film while his father shot the image with a 2 1/4 black and white camera for the composition and detail. On occasion, his father would use David's color photos for the composition of his works. David realized then a love for the camera and capturing the world around him with the use of the shutter. Often, because of David's knack for naming things, his father would use David's names for his paintings.

David has sold his artwork, paintings and photography, and co-owned an art gallery, RavenHawk Studios with his wife Jen in Idyllwild, California in which they opened in 2001. He now sells his artwork in Sedona galleries.

Childhood

David Vincent Mills is a funky jazz pianist and keyboardist, composer, recording artist and producer with over 20 years of professional experience whose roots are in jazz and classical music as he studied both piano and trumpet from a young age. Born in Royal Oak Michigan, and growing up in Southern California, mostly in Lake Arrowhead with a brief stint in West Hartford Connecticut, Mills' home was filled with the sounds of jazz due to his father being a jazz aficionado and trumpet player. His mother was a lover of classical music and it was she that first exposed Mills to that side of his future training. 

Since the age of 4, Mills has been composing songs and at the age of 6 he formally began his piano studies. By the age of 10 his father began teaching him trumpet and he played in symphonic and jazz big bands through middle and high school. His true love was the piano though, and now is his main instrument. In his early teens, Mills began studying with renowned pianist and composer Clare Fischer. Later in college at RCC and UCR he broadened his palette to include all Western musical styles and various musical genres of the world. Today he is interested in free-form improvising as well as using his original compositions as a launching pad for improvisation, tapping into an assortment of musical genres and discovering the common ground within the juxtaposition of those genres.