MILLER TIME: Bay Area chanteuse Natasha Miller returns to Los Angeles with a concert July 21 at The Vic for Jazz.
Miller will sing tunes from her upcoming CD, "Don't Move." The album follows last year's "I Got a Feelin': The Bobby Sharp Songbook" with 11 more tunes by the octogenarian, Alameda-based songwriter.
"Bobby who?," you say.
Sharp was a budding songwriter in the 1960s, who put the music business behind him after licking a nasty drug habit. In the ensuing years, he worked as a drug rehab counselor. But about three years ago, a then-retired Sharp heard Miller singing on a Bay Area radio station. He called her up and sheepishly said she was the perfect muse for his tunes.
A skeptical Miller offered to meet Sharp. Near the end of the phone conversation, he volunteered the title of a song he'd written back in the day, saying it might be familiar: "Unchain My Heart," a smash hit for Ray Charles in the 1960s. Sharp had sold the tune for $50 to buy drugs.
Hearing this, Miller's ears perked up -- especially after she heard a cassette tape of Sharp's luscious ballads and catchy R&B songs. Ironically, Miller had just lost a child in delivery. Working on the first tribute CD to Sharp rescued her from depression and alleviated fears that she'd lost her voice.
The serendipitous story hit the news media in time for "Ray," director Taylor Hackford's biopic on Charles. Hollywood's now interested in Miller and Sharp. And if you don't make it to L.A. tonight, the two appear together in September at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
Miller performs shows at 8 and 10 p.m. at The Vic for Jazz, 2640 Main St., Santa Monica. Tickets are $20. Call 1-888-FORJAZZ or visit
Charles Levin, Ventura County Star - VENTURA COUNTY STAR (Jul 21, 2005)