Duets


The Players

Sam Miltich has performed as a duo with dozens of talented musicians. These are some of his frequent collaborators.

Briand Morrison is jazz guitarist living in northern Minnesota. Morrison has been active in and around Minnesota and abroad for over twenty years. In addition to performing jazz he plays many styles and is a composer and producer. He continues to work at his home studio in the village of Grand Portage on the shores of Lake Superior.

Charmin Michelle is a charismatic jazz vocalist whose conversational style recalls the late Billie Holiday and other legendary ladies of jazz. She's a savvy songstress and, while putting her own imprint on a melody, is always respectful of those who first inhabited it. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Charmin moved to Minnesota while still a child and has called it home ever since. Classically trained in piano, violin and flute, she transitioned into singing in the early nineties performing in jazz clubs throughout the Twin Cities.

Dave Graf started learning the trombone in 4th grade and just kept going with it. For over 40 years, he has played all kinds of music, from small groups to big bands to show orchestras, but the sound of jazz is closest to his heart. Dave knows thousands of tunes and relishes the opportunity to have improvised musical "conversations" with like-minded musicians like Sam Miltich!

Doug Haining is one of the most swinging sax and clarinet players, citing the influence of Johnny Hodges. Doug has been delighting audiences for over four decades in the upper Midwest. Doug leads and is the principal arranger for the Twin Cities Seven, a small swing combo that plays swing music from Basie, Ellington, Louis Armstrong and other. Doug also co-leads the Explosion Big Band, a 17-piece ensemble that plays a wide variety of big-band literature from the whole history of the genre. Doug has worked with Minneapolis, Minnesota area bands, including The Wolverines Big Band, The Mouldy Figs, The Clearwater Hot Club, the JazzMn Big Band, The Solid Senders, and many others.

Gary Schulte is a violinist and performance composer to whom Stephane Grappelli gave his most sincere blessing. A veteran of "A Prairie Home Companion", he has done everything from classical improvisation with harpsichord master Layton James to the avante garde with David Byrne. Sought after as a jazz violinist, he has gigged with some of the greatest artists of the Gypsy Jazz genre, including guitarist legend Dorado Schmitt. He is also known for his work in the Black Gospel tradition, and for his unaccompanied solo violin performances in which he takes a story or image and creates a spontaneous composition in front of a live audience.  

Tony Balluff has been playing clarinet for most of his life. He learned traditional jazz from members of the Hall Brothers Jazz Band, including Butch Thompson and Charlie DeVore. For two decades he has led Southside Aces, a band performing traditional jazz ranging from Jelly Roll Morton to Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington to Preservation Hall. Tony is also a composer of jazz, creating all the songs for the ninth and most recent Southside Aces record.