In the field of numerology, the number nine is connected to wisdom and experience. As Philadelphia-based vocalist Maci Miller writes in the liner notes for her new album, Nine, “The number nine is significant because it’s closely associated with the spirit, with spiritual growth, inner awakening and self-realization. It symbolizes a lifetime of learning and is the universal number for love and for hope. It represents patience, harmony, friendship, strength and unity.”

Whether you believe in the mystical properties of numbers or not, there’s no mistaking the relevance of those qualities to Miller’s stunning new album.

Nine is the singer’s second release following a nearly decade-long hiatus to focus on adopting and raising her daughter, Ruby, a period that certainly resulted in a wealth of personal growth and realization.

The album also arrives on the heels of a period of near-universal turmoil on the planet, making Miller’s message of universal love a vivid spiritual antidote.

Already a compelling song stylist who combines wide-ranging influences into a entrancing and unique voice all her own, Miller emerged from this period of reflection with a rejuvenated passion for songwriting and a mission to explore the theme of universal love in all its vibrant and complicated forms. She’s a beguiling storyteller with a singular ability to embody a lyric, whether the emotion calls for tenderness or sensuality, heartbreak or joy.

Perhaps most importantly, Nine is the number of musicians that Miller and producer/ pianist/writing partner Aaron Graves have assembled for this project. The stellar ensemble represents a who’s who of the thriving Philly jazz scene – the pair are joined by bassist Mike Boone, tenor sax living legend Larry McKenna, Victor North on soprano sax, and drummers Byron Landham, Leon Jordan Sr., and Josh Orlando. The number is rounded out by special guest trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, who is granted honorary Philadelphian status for his appearance on “The Nearness of You.”

“The jazz scene in Philadelphia has such a high caliber of players,” Miller says. “But what I really love is that it’s such a warm community. I felt embraced and supported right from the beginning.”

1. High Wire
2. Firm Roots
3. Love Me For Who I Am
4. Little Bird
5. Complicated
6. The Nearness of You
7. I Can’t Wait
8. Strange Is The Night
9. Feel The Music

The album opens on her uptempo rendition of Chick Corea’s High Wire and then brings us the gleaming Firm Roots (complete with a new lyric for Cedar Walton’s title song of the pianist’s 1976 album), the soulful Love Me For Who I Am and then a song that grew out of a few lines that Miller sang to coax her pet birds out of their cage, thus becoming a metaphor for leaving the nest and finding one’s own way in life, the alluring Little Bird.

Along next on this dutifully impassioned new recording is the elegant Complicated (featuring a witty call and response with Larry McKenna) and a dutiful retelling of the standard The Nearness of You (complete with a diligent Jeremy Pelt solo), and they are in turn followed by the pleasing I Can’t Wait, the album rounding out on the beauteous of Strange Is The Night (which itself addresses the societal issues confronting the world), closing on the resplendent Feel The Music.

Originally from Harrisburg, PA, Miller was born into a musical family. Her great-grandfather was a Russian Jewish violinist who immigrated to the United States to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies (family lore has it that he also worked as Eddie Cantor’s musical director in the 20s, though that has yet to be confirmed). Growing up she was drawn to the soulful divas of the day – Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner – whose influence remains in Miller’s gift for imbuing a lyric with soul and drama.

Her inspiration of the great jazz singers, in particular Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, shines through – Holiday’s rhythmic phrasing, Fitzgerald’s brassy brightness. But Miller absorbs those legendary voices with the pop subtlety of Norah Jones and the soul storytelling of her childhood favorites to arrive at a mesmerizingly personal style, rapturously framed by her wide-ranging songcraft.

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