SPN: Jazz/Funk/Soul Marcus Miller – Marcus, Corine Bailey Rae, Lelah Hathaway, David Sanborn, Tom Scott, Miles Davis, Lenny White, Reviews, Broadcasts, Pictures and more
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Marcus Miller – Marcus (Featuring: Corine Bailey Rae, Lelah Hathaway, David Sanborn, Tom Scott)
Welcome To The Soul-Patrol Newsletter
Sometimes there is some music that is just plain fun and that is something that you can pretty much count on from our friend Marcus Miller. He has been delivering high quality “Great Black Music from the Ancient to the Future” for well over 25 years now. As an artist, Marcus Miller has embraces the totality of Black Music. He has worked with artists as diverse as Miles Davis and Luther Vandross, and everyone in between. From NASTY FUNK to GREAT SLOW JAMS, Marcus Miller has always been right there for us.
One of the things that we would like very much for you to do with this issue of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter is to spend some time at the website of Marcus Miller (www.marcusmiller.com) . He has put together one of the most comprehensive, and yet user friendly websites of any artist that I have seen. It’s been obvious to me for quite some time, that Marcus Miller is one of very few artists who truly get’s the internet. Much like his bass playing, there are no wasted steps or motions when navigating his website, and yet that ease of use is in direct contrast to the sheer amount of content available there. For example, there are over 1,500 pictures, many videos, music samples, detailed descriptions and more.
Not only that, I know that Marcus Miller is someone who pays very close attention to what is happening on the internet. For example, back in 2001, when everyone here on Soul-Patrol was going nuts because we had “discovered” Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller took note of this activity. Marcus Miller posted a link directly from the front page of his website to Soul-Patrol.com. And in doing so made comments about just how much we were doing to support Victor Wooten. I thought that was an amazing thing for one artist to do for another.
We also have a special internet radio broadcast, focusing on Marcus Miller’s new album called “Marcus.” During the broadcast we not only feature 6 cuts from this hit album, but we also trace Marcus’s history as one of the “Jamacia Boys” to his days with Miles Davis, right up to his great new release called “Marcus”, which is currently a hit not only on the Jazz charts, but also on the R&B and Pop charts.
And in 2008, that is surely quite an accomplishmentÂ….
Check all of this out and let us know what cha think…
Thanks in advance…
–Bob Davis
609-351-0154
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Official Bio: Marcus Miller
(“jamacia funk, that’s what it was…”)
Marcus Miller, winner of the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of 2001, was born in Brooklyn in 1959 and raised in Jamaica, New York. He came from a musical family and was influenced early on by his father, a church organist and choir director, as well as his musical extended family (which included the extraordinary Wynton Kelly, jazz pianist for Miles Davis during the late fifties and early sixties!). He displayed an early affinity for all types of music. By the age of thirteen he was already proficient on the clarinet, piano, and bass guitar and had begun composing music. The bass guitar, however, was his love and by the age of fifteen, he was working regularly in New York City with various bands. Soon thereafter, he was playing bass and writing music for flutist Bobbi Humphrey and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith
Miller spent the next few years as a top call New York studio musician, working with Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Grover Washington Jr., Bob James and David Sanborn, among others. He has appeared as a bassist on over 400 records including recordings by artists as diverse as Joe Sample, McCoy Tyner, Mariah Carey, Bill Withers, Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Frank Sinatra, and LL Cool J.
In 1981, he joined his boyhood idol Miles Davis and spent two years on the road with the fabled jazzman. “He didn’t settle for anything mediocre,” Miller recalls. “And this helped me develop my style. I learned from him that you have to be honest about who you are and what you do. If you follow that, you won’t have problems.”
Miller subsequently turned his attention to producing, his first major production being David Sanborn’s Voyeur, which earned Sanborn a Grammy and turned out to be the beginning of a career-long partnership with the alto saxman. Miller later produced various other top selling albums for Sanborn, including Close Up, Upfront, and 2000 Grammy winner Inside.
For more than twenty years, Miller has also enjoyed a musical relationship with R&B legend, Luther Vandross. “We met in 79 in Roberta Flack’s band and instantly connected because we were both so serious about music,” Miller recalls. Over the years, Miller has contributed countless hits to Vandross repertoire both as a producer and writer. Those songs include “Till My Baby Comes Home,” “It’s Over Now,” “Any Love,” “I m Only Human,” and “The Power of Love,” which won the 1991 Grammy for R&B Song of the Year.
In 1986, Miller collaborated again with Miles Davis, producing the landmark Tutu album, the first of three Davis albums he would produce. He has also produced Al Jarreau, the Crusaders, Wayne Shorter, Take 6, Chaka Khan, and Kenny Garrett among others, and Luther Vandross.
After spending many years as a producer and session musician, Miller focused on his solo career in late 1993 with the release of The Sun Don’t Lie. 1995’s Tales found Miller re-imagining the landscape of Black music and its evolution over the past three decades. After years of touring and in response to Miller fans pleas, Live & More was released in 1997.
M2 (“M-squared”), his first release of the new millennium, won the 2001 Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and was selected by Jazziz as one of the 10 Best CDs of the Year. 3 Deuces Records now debuts The Ozell Tapes: The Official Bootleg, a live double CD. The Ozell Tapes is Miller’s compilation of the best of his 2002 tour dates. It’s raw, unadulterated, pure funk as only Marcus can do it.
In the past several years, Miller has also turned his attention to film scoring, composing for House Party (Martin Lawrence), Boomerang (Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry), Siesta (Ellen Barkin), Ladies’ Man (Tim Meadows), and The Brothers (Morris Chestnut and D.L. Hughley) and Deliver Us From Eva (LL Cool J). He wrote and produced the old school hit, “Da Butt” for Spike Lee’s School Daze soundtrack. Miller further surprised people by composing and performing the score to E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan. “I loved getting the opportunity to use jazz to tell a story to kids. Children have much more sophisticated ears than people give them credit for. You really don’t have to play down to them. Just keep the music real.”
Whether he’s making music for kids or longtime fans, keeping it real is the criteria that steers all of Marcus Miller’s music. “I like to keep things balanced, combining R&B, jazz, funk and movie stuff to help reflect what’s happening in our world. I just try to keep challenging myself to continue to grow and get better.”
Album Review: Marcus Miller- Marcus
(Jazz/Funk/Soul)
Marcus Miller is one of those ubiquitous types. Seeing his name on an album may induce reactions spanning from “My man~!!” or “Marcus, again?” to the dreaded “Ummm”. That’s the territory where uniquely talented extremely busy types reside. We can take them to heart….and we can take them for granted. I mean in 2008 Marcus Miller shares relevancy with George Duke, Lil Wayne and Louie Vega. Musical types who in their chosen idiom are just………everywhere. But the reason why they ARE everywhere is because their colleagues, be it fellow producers, rappers, remixers and lastly record buyers hold them in high esteem. It’s just that it seems Marcus is ALWAYS around. I mean, this CD actually WAS already around last year. With a different cover. So the sense of Deja VU is on EXTRA TAKE FOR GRANTED. Don’t let that happen. Marcus knew you got lost.
Marcus felt all of you rushing past him to get to that Victor Wooten concert. So, he repackaged last years import-only CD with a new cover. Improved re-mastering and a bonus last-cut-on-the-CD retake of his version of Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without You” using the spoken word talent of actress and since **That F’N Pimp movie** I guess, now spoken word vocalist Taraji P. Henson. As is standard for the modern Soul/Jazz CD there are musical guests: Corrine Bailey Rae turns in a better than decent version of “Free.” It won’t replace your memories of Deniece Williams but it wont insult you either. Keb’ Mo guests on an original tune written by himself and Marc called “Milky Way.” A nice weaving in-and-out of their styles. A lot smoother than you might think it would be.
Anybody remember the Kevin Moore album on Casablanca? Rainmaker? No? Glad he reinvented himself. Cause THIS guy plays one HELL of a guitar. Shihan The Poet (I never heard of him before) WRECKS “‘Cause I Love You” in that FUNKY way, you know. This guy is GOOD. Old School Hip-Hop good. Lalah Hathaway takes the next spot on a JAM called “Ooh”. When I saw the title I was afraid this was one of those wordless vocal things that those who CAN sing LOVE to do…to PROVE they can sing. It’s just that those tunes bore the REST of us. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE. This is a real song with GREAT vocals. Lalah sounds happy, sexy, extra throaty….almost Chaka Kahny in spots. Real GOOD. Uptempo is not Lalah’s sweet spot, but Marcus and Lalah found a way to get her where she needed to be. A VERY, VERY good performance.
But you don’t buy this CD for the guests, good and well-chosen as they turned out to be. This is all about the slim man who does so much so damn WELL that it’s easy to take for granted his primary instrument. The BASS. He teases it Weather Report style on “When I Fall In Love”. A nice combo take that would not have been out of place on a CBS Jazz Fusion album in 1979. Only the combo is overdubbed Marcus, with an assist on harmonica and drums. DAMN. I was looking for Al Dimeola for a second there~! Marcus RECLAIMS his instrument. The opening track, “Blast” is just that. Controlled rocket power…thrusting forward. His mission statement and a fine FUNKY opener. And if you didn’t get the message that MARC is on that SERIOUS FUNK TIP? “Funk Joint” with its Spike/Bill Lee sounding mix reminds you. Stevie’s “Higher Ground” with the Bass doing the vocal melody as well as the instrumental bass lead is just phenomenal. He’s here to PLAY.
Now some of you see the song list and “Jean Pierre” (Which he originally played Bass on during the “We Want Miles” period) and “What Is Hip” (Originally Tower Of Power) will stand out. Marcus is reported as saying he wanted to recut “Jean Pierre” both as a tribute to Miles and as a realization that he UNDERSTOOD the song now. I thought it was great THEN. I think it’s great NOW. A different take to be sure….but GREAT. However…..the slaphappy full speeds take on “What Is Hip” leaves a bit to be desired. Remember those 70’s Cheryl Lynn and Patti Labelle albums? How they always had that ONE song ROMPING at FULL SPEED? This gave me bad flashbacks to that. YES Marcus is FLASHY and assured here. But, he’s doing this because you all rushed PAST him to get to that Victor Wooten concert remember? But it’s just too fast for my tastes.
So ONE bum track (and not really a bum track) out of 14? Marcus Miller produced a GEM here. I hope that people will be as receptive to this CD as they should be. This is one fine smattering of well-produced, well played FUNKY, SOULFUL music. The kind of CD they rarely make anymore. Marcus knew you got lost.
He strapped on his Bass and found some STUFF for y’all…….
1. Blast!
2. Funk Joint
3. Free – (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae)
4. Higher Ground
5. Milky Way – (featuring Keb’ Mo’)
6. Pluck (Interlude)
7. Lost Without U
8. ‘Cause I Want You – (featuring Shihan The Poet)
9. Ooh – (featuring Lalah Hathaway)
10. When I Fall In Love
11. Strum
12. Jean Pierre
13. What is Hip?
14. Lost Without U (Spoken Word) – (featuring Taraji P. Henson)
–Donald Cleveland
Look for these songs playing as as “buzz cuts” on Nu Soul @ RadioIO.com
Concert Review: Marcus Miller at the Vault 350 – Long Beach, CA
(plucking…….funking…… welcoming everybody to his pluck party)
Hot n’ humid Friday nite, August 18, 2006……just outside the Vault 350 in Long Beach, California. The Vault 350 is one of Southern California’s newest, hippest venues to open up in the club-happy southland. Waiting in line…… that anticipation starts….soon the doors open, the doorman snaps that hideous blue or pink plastic handcuff around your wrist, and soon you are in – scrambling for the best seats, or at least the best seats next to the best single ladies!
Soon, movement is seen behind that fluorescent curtain that the latest clubs flaunt. A horn squeaks, a drum beats, a keyboard tweaks, and the freaks in the seats begin to freak!
The curtain parts, to a gigantic roar, to reveal the band in place – sans leader. The band starts a low key funk, and out strolls this small frame draped in jeans, t-shirt, Air Jordan’s…….and that ever-present porkpie hat cocked atop his round head. Marcus has entered the building ya’ll.
“Ladies and gentlemen – Marcus Miller”
Marcus smiles that elfish grin of his, and wastes no time. Thumb hits the E string, and soon we are all swaying as “Higher Ground” by Stevie scorches from the state-of-the-art sound system. Marcus moves easily around the stage……..plucking…….funking…… welcoming everybody to his pluck party. It’s on!
For the uninitiated, Marcus is one of the baddest, bestest (apologies to any English teachers), bassist walking the earth rite now. He’s played with and/or written songs for, to name just a few, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, and Miles Davis. He is not only a master thumb slap bassist (thank you Larry Graham and Louis Johnson,) but also a fantastic finger player as he showed on his next tune, “Jean Pierre” (a Miles tune.) During the middle of this tune, Marcus picked up the bass clarinet – an instrument about the same size as master Marcus – and played a beautiful, haunting solo. Not a lot of musicians play the bass clarinet, but Marcus showed what a versatile musician he is. Gone Marcus!
What’s immediately noticeable about the band is that Marcus is not using a guitarist in this lineup? On stage is a keyboardist (the funky Bobby Sparks), longtime drummer (Poogie Bell), trumpeter (Patches Stewart), saxophonist (Keith Anderson) – and in lieu of a guitarist, a harmonica player (Gregoire Maret)………not a guitar in sight. You would think the sound would be lacking without a guitarist, but I’m here/hear to tell you the lack of a guitar seemed to open up the funk lines and leave plenty of room for Marcus to fill the void with lightening bass runs and fills. The harmonica player played Abbott to Marcus’ Costello (you young funkateers look it up.)
Next – raise your hand if you knew Marcus could play the keyboards…….I’ll wait. Aha – not many hands raised I see. Marcus plays the keyboard and did so during a couple of his numbers.
After “Jean Pierre,” Marcus tore into some mean funk with crowd favorites “Bruce Lee” and later “Frankenstein.” Marcus, always the generous bandleader, gave his band-mates extended solo time as these funk grooves stretched into some monster jams. The crowd refused to leave after these tunes, and gratefully the band returned and encored with my favorite Marcus Miller tune – “Tutu.”
I got a chance to talk to Marcus and all the band members after the show, and they claim they all read Soul Patrol on a regular basis “for the pulse of the people” as Marcus exclaimed.”
All n’ all – throw all the shit together in a pot – funk, jazz, rock ; then fuse it – ” fushionfunkjazzrock” – stir that gumbo and let it simmer – and you’ve got you some damn good Marcus Miller!
–Duane Lance Filer
Marcus Miller – Marcus (Featuring: Corine Bailey Rae, Lelah Hathaway, David Sanborn, Tom Scott)
If you have a news item, update, review, commentary, etc that you would like to submit to the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, please send them via email for consideration to:
earthjuice@prodigy.net
Hopefully you enjoyed this edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter.
We will be back soon with the next edition, with email alerts for local events, Soul-Patrol website updates/chat sessions or breaking news in between, as required.
If you have any comments, questions, etc feel free to drop me an email and let me know what’s on your mind.
Bob Davis
earthjuice@prodigy.net
