Jonathan Mills

Jonathan Mills is an active jazz musician, percussionist, and educator in the Atlanta area. He attended Georgia State University and earned a Master of Music in Jazz Studies in 2015. Before that, Jonathan earned a dual degree in Music Education and Percussion Performance from Slippery Rock University in 2013. His primary instructors include Justin Varnes at GSU and Dr. David Glover at SRU.

As a performer, Jonathan works frequently with Atlanta area professional musicians primarily as a freelance jazz musician. He also enjoys collaborating with Americana group Caleb & The Gents, based in Atlanta and Chatanooga; the group tours regionally throughout the southeast and has gone as far north as Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA. Jonathan also leads his own quartet which focuses on a mix of original compositions and arrangements while drawing on influences from the jazz tradition, funk, rock, folk, and some world music. Jonathan has performed at Spivey Hall, The Columbus Jazz Society, the Rialto Theater, the Atlanta Film Festival, Churchill Grounds, Mason Tavern, the Athens Jazz Society, Paris, Fete de la Musique in Toulouse, France, and many other stages across Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Alabama.

Some notable artists Jonathan has worked with include George Cables, Grace Kelly, Harold Betters (Louis Armstrong, Slide Hampton, Ray Charles), Ashleigh Smith (Sarah Vaughn International Vocal Competition winner), and Korean saxophonist/composer LuKas Insung Lee. While a student at GSU and SRU, Jonathan had the honor of performing with Mike Abene, Joey DeFrancesco, Bobby Shew, Donny McCaslin, Jerry Bergonzi, and Joe Negri (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) to name a few.

Currently Jonathan maintains a private percussion teaching studio at Carere Music in Atlanta, GA. Jonathan also taught for two school years ((phone number hidden)7) as Instructor of Music at Miles College in Birmingham, AL. There, he taught the Miles Percussion Ensemble, applied classical/jazz percussion students, and music theory courses. Before then, he held a graduate assistantship at GSU where his responsibilities included teaching undergraduate courses/ensembles. During his time at GSU, Jonathan was also honored to work as a guest artist with a jazz combo at Emory University. Before moving to Atlanta, Jonathan first began teaching drums privately in 2007, and honed in his teaching skills while completing his Music Education degree at Slippery Rock University.