When I connected with Sam Miltich about his upcoming event in Silver Bay, I admitted I wasn’t quite sure what to expect after hearing a description of the professional jazz musician’s newest project, Miletići: New Music from the Old Country.
“The name Miletići is the plural of Sam and Matthew Miltich’s traditional Croatian last name Miletic,” advised Nelson French, President of Rocky Wall Entertainment, the organization bringing Miltich to Silver Bay for a community concert. “This new ensemble focuses on music from Dalmatia, the Balkans, and the broader Eastern and Central European region. The band draws its repertoire from traditional Tamburitza and Romani Cocek music from the Balkans, Klapa music from Dalmatia, and Jewish Klezmer and traditional Slavic folk songs from Central and Eastern Europe.”
Ahead of our conversation, I spent time with Miltich’s 2019 release Peasants with Torches and was quickly captivated by the quintet’s dynamic energy throughout the album. They produce a richly textured sound that reimagines traditional folk forms through the prism of jazz.
When I mentioned to Miltich that Swing Guitars was a particular favorite, he replied, “That’s a fun one. That’s a Django Reinhardt classic, actually.”
Miltich comes from a musical family and was exposed to jazz and traditional music as a child. His grandad played upright bass and swing music in the 1930s and 40s, while his nana was a classical cellist. His dad and nearly all his brothers played guitar and sang, taking part in a band in the 1970s and 80s that played rock, blues, and singer-songwriter music. His father also briefly played in an amateur tamburitza band.
“My family immigrated from the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia to the Iron Range, like so many Slavic families did, to work in the mines,” Miltich explained. “Growing up, I had some exposure to tamburitza music. You’d hear the Duquesne Tamburitzans come to Iron World and play those old Croatian and Serbian tamburitza songs. I was always familiar with that music.”
Growing up, he said he “knew” he had to play acoustic guitar, so he picked up the instrument at 13 and by 15 had tried many different styles and genres.
“I really landed on that Django Reinhardt style,” he said. “It was sort of like the tamburitza, old country music, and the swing music put together in one when I heard Django Reinhardt. I really liked it. Really, the common link that we have here is that I’m taking Django Reinhardt style hot club jazz and applying that acoustic guitar technique to the tamburitza tunes.”
According to French, “What sets this ensemble apart from other traditional folk ensembles is that all of the band members are full-time jazz musicians. Miletići puts new twists on old music by infusing the band’s love of improvisation into traditional music. You may hear Klezmer songs played in a swing rhythm, or open improvised solo sections on a Romani Cocek from Macedonia.”
Grand Rapids, Minnesota native Miltich describes improvisation as a “language” and compared it to the discussion we were having at the moment.
“There’s a lexicon and there’s a vocabulary that you use and all the words that you and I are exchanging back and forth, they’re all things that we’ve spoken before. But the conversation we’re having is completely fresh,” he said. “It also doesn’t just come out of the thin air either. So, I think to me, when that improvising is happening, it’s just the communication between the musicians on stage.”
The musicians traveling to Silver Bay with Miltich include Matthew Miltich, who plays upright bass and provides vocals, Gary Schulte on violin, Mark Kreitzer on both mandolin and guitar, and Tony Balluff on clarinet. Miltich himself plays tamburitza and provides vocals as well as the guitar.
“I’m working with all professional jazz musicians out of the Twin Cities that I’ve played with my whole career that are joining us,” said Miltich. “So, it’s a large group, and we’re all really familiar with the Hot Club Django Reinhardt repertoire.”
Passing down his love for music to his children, he advised that they are teaching him how to teach.
“I have to find ways to explain what I’m doing in terms that are digestible and manageable to understand,” he explained. “When you teach others, you actually help cement your own understanding and grounding in that.”
For Miltich, a mental health advocate who has shared his struggles in the past, music has also been a form of grounding.
“For me, it’s not anything too far out or magical. It’s just simply, I think, when the brain is engaged and focused and present and in the moment, I think that’s kind of a form of meditation,” he said. “My two great passions in life are music and the outdoors. I’m an avid hunter and fisherman and gardener and musician and all of those tasks really require focus.”
That philosophy led him to create The Improvised Life, a touring project that combines jazz performance with candid conversation about mental health. In it, Miltich shares his own experiences living with schizophrenia and uses improvisation as a metaphor for navigating unpredictability in life. More information about the project can be found at sammiltichmusic.com.
Looking forward to performing in Silver Bay, Miltich is no stranger to the area. His grandpa lived north of Grand Marais and he has performed a number of times in Rocky Wall Entertainment’s outdoor concert events. He has a great appreciation of “The Big Lake” and enjoys the trip from Grand Rapids.
“My favorite part of the whole thing is when you come over that crest of the hill and then you can just see the expanse of the lake just unfold for you,” he said. “My ancestors came from the Dalmatian coast in Croatia, so we like big water like that. It’s as close as can get to going to the sea.”
Sam Miltich & His Friends will perform Miletići: New Music from the Old Country on Saturday, December 27, from 7–9 p.m. at Reunion Hall in Silver Bay. The concert is free to the public. For more information about the event visit rockywallentertainment.org.
