b'acurrentSOMSD BOEmember; AhmedBest,a Broadway perform-erandmusician alsoknownforhis role as Jar Jar Binks intheStarWars prequel trilogy and nowappearingin TheMandalorian; EricHudson,a GrammyAward-winningmusicVern Miller points to photos and a concert ID badge from the producer; Matt De- Beatles tour, which his band the Remains opened for in 1966, Filippis, senior viceas Jeiris Cook looks on.Discover Why Home president of licens-ing for ASCAP, the American SocietySellers Trust Stacie Levy.of Composers, Authors & Publishers; and, of course, singer/songwriter Lau- Reliable Advisor. Resourceful Advocate. ryn Hill. Your Partner in Real Estate Success.Mazzocchi, who played trombone inMillersbandbeforegoingonto studyattheManhattanSchoolof Music and play in some of the top or- Stacie Levy stacie.levy@compass.com chestras in the country, admitted thatwith the Caterpillar Book and ShakeyLicensed Real Estate Salesperson M: 917.686.3821 | O: 973.310.6816at the time, he was too young to re- Ground, groups made up of South Or- Stacie Levy is a licensed is a real estate salesperson affiliated with Compass.ally understand the gravity of Millersange and Maplewood musician friends,Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws.career. What he did understand was asome of which were the parents of his teacher believing in him so much thatstudents. Between the two, Miller per-he took the time to call his mom andformed at Maplewoodstock at least five recommend private lessons. times between 2008 and 2017.What if he didnt make that call?So its no surprise that Miller, now Mazzocchisays.Thatchangedtheinhis70s,wasstillmakingmusic trajectory of my life forever. when Cook walked into his studio in Miller, he says, has continued to in- Jefferson Township. spire him as an adult.ItwasMayof2019,lessthana He has lived a life steeped in music.year before the Coronavirus pandemic Hes always doing something, Mazzoc- shutdown, and Cooks son had started chi says, with a note of awe in his voice. taking art lessons from watercolor art-FollowinghisstintwiththeRe- ist Sue Miller, Verns wife. One day, af-mains,Millerplayedbassforsuchter dropping his son off, Cook found luminariesasDonnaSummer,thethe door to Millers studio open and Ronettes, Bobby Hebb (Sunny), andthere sat Vern Miller, surrounded by theShirelles.Hethenformedanguitars, computers, sound equipment, 11-piece band called Swallow, whichand music posters.recordedtwoalbumswithWarnerI was like, Oh wow, Cook said. Brothers and opened for artists suchCook, who didnt move to Maple-as Aerosmith, Joe Cocker, Steve Win- wooduntilhighschool,neverknew wood, BB King, the Beach Boys, theMiller as a teacher since most of Mill-J. Geils Band, the Isley Brothers, Boers teaching career included working Diddley, and the Supremes. withmiddleschoolers,althoughhe Milleralsocomposedthethemebriefly taught marching band at CHS. song for the 1996 NJ Martin LutherCookwasntinband;hewasin KingCelebration,whichwasper- choir and did some music theater. He formed by a 200-voice childrens choir,wasalsopartofaquartetthatper-andcomposedavirtuosotubacon- formedsingingtelegrams.Wewere certo that was performed by the U.S.very popular around Valentines Day, Army Band in Washington, D.C.he says with a chuckle.Additionally,heplayedlocallyFor Cook, although music was in feature story /17'